The police met residents of Sutton South Ward again on the evening of 15 January 2025, at Devonshire Avenue school. There are open, public meetings held quarterly at which the police discuss the policing of the Ward with local residents. We were addressed by our Ward Constable, Constable Robyn Skivens, who went through the crime statistics for the Ward. Sutton has a lower crime rate than most outer London boroughs and our Ward has one of the lowest crime rates in Sutton. However, crime always has a significant impact on the victim and public concern remains high. The draft minutes of the meeting are as below.

SUTTON SOUTH COMMUNITY / POLICE MEETING. 15 JANUARY 2025
Attended by PC Robyn Skivens and PCSO Helen Maguire for the police.
A report was given on main crime trends from 1 September to the date of the
meeting.
DRUG OFFENCES
There had been 18 drug offences, mainly possession of drugs, mainly cannabis.
While this was higher than normal the increase was partly attributable to a
special police operation at Sutton train station.
Four of these crimes were the interception by the Border Force of drug
shipments. Where such a shipment is to premises in our Ward it will count in
our statistics.
BURGLARY
There had been 21 burglaries or attempted burglaries. This included residential
burglaries, burglaries of garages and sheds, and some burglaries of businesses.
It was noted that there was usually a seasonal increase in burglary at this time
of year as it was darker earlier.
There had been eight residential burglaries. However, some that had been
reported in sheltered accommodation in the Ward were later disproved and
attributed to dementia. A disturbing case was that of a landlord who was able
to let himself into a flat and commit theft. Two burglaries of garages had
involved theft of bicycles.
Mention was made of a shop in Brighton Road where the window was
smashed and the wooden panel that was then put in place to secure the
premises was pulled away to facilitate burglary. Mention was made of the
theft of tools from a construction site in the Ward.
Some burglaries had involved the theft of keys, which were then used to
commit further offences (theft of a car key leading to theft of a car). The police
stressed the need to make sure keys were kept out of sight – if the keys can be
seen from your letterbox you are inviting crime.

VEHICLE CRIME

There had been 14 instances of vehicle crime (theft of vehicles, damage to
vehicles, theft from vehicles). The police stressed the need to avoid leaving
anything of value on display in your car, or in the car at all. An unusual crime
had been the theft of an excavator and a dumper from the road works in
Brighton Road.
THEFT
There had been 23 crimes in a category the police described as “theft and
kindred (to theft)” events. This included shoplifting, parcel theft, theft of pedal
cycles and mobile phones. Examples mentioned included theft of scrap metal,
theft of a wheelie bin and theft of a wedding ring by distraction techniques.
MAJOR CRIMES
There had been nine major, violent crimes in the Ward. This included several
robberies at the train station, a large group altercation outside a restaurant, a
fight between two drug users, and a concerning incident of a woman who was
followed from the station and robbed. There were also two incidents of arson,
of a bin and of a Ford transit. A ULEZ camera was deliberately damaged.
There was an incident where a drug user was searched and a knife, and bladed
articles, were found to be in his possession.
There was a disturbing incident of an anti-semitic symbol being daubed on a
wall outside the synagogue in Cedar Road. There had been a succession of
incidents related to a woman living in Cedar Road who had engaged in anti-
social activities that had attracted a community of drug users to her premises.
This was now the subject of police reports to the DPS that were expected to
lead to her being charged with serious offences.
SPEEDING
The police had been conducting a programme of visits to local care homes and
sheltered housing to talk about scams. Residents had raised with them
concerns about speeding in Cavendish Road, which had led to police action in
that road. There was a discussion of speeding in local roads including
Chalgrove Road, Langley Park Road, The Ridgway and Cavendish Road. The
police had been carrying out speed checks in Chalgrove Road and Cavendish
Road. The action in Cavendish Road had led to twelve drivers receiving
warnings. The police would consider further action against speeding in local
roads, subject to resources.

OTHER MATTERS DISCUSSED
Staffing levels: There should be in theory be a third officer on the Ward to
support Robyn and Helen, but they were coping.
The number of “extractions” when they were called away to join police
exercises elsewhere in London, or at the Croydon custody suite, remained an
issue of concern but was now running closed to 35% of their time rather than
the 50% it had once been.
Mention was made of local concern about a story that a body had been
discovered at a house in Egmont Road. The police assured the meeting that
there was no wider implication of this incident.
The next meeting was tentatively scheduled for Wednesday 14 May at Devonshire Avenue school (7pm) subject to the police checking their work rota.
The meeting thanked Robyn for coming back from leave to attend the meeting
and thanked the officers for their work for the community in dealing with
crime in the Ward. The meeting thanked Fiona Ostler for letting us meet at the school. The date of the next meeting was provisionally set as Wednesday 14 May, at Devonshire Avenue primary school and thought continues to be given to what could be done to better publicise the meeting and get a better attendance.