12 February (Part 4) - The police wrap up their report to Scrutiny
There were just a few more police related issues that might be worth a mention before the book is closed on the recent Scrutiny meeting…
• Police response vehicles roaring out of Bexleyheath sirens blaring will very
often be heading to Greenwich giving the impression to Bexley residents that
there is more crime than there is.
• “People are heavily influenced by what they read
and Social Media is a space that is very very difficult for us (Police) because
of the immediacy of it and the lack of context provided.”
• “We must learn from the British Transport Police who after a fatality on the
lines will often have the lines open and running again within a matter of hours.
We (the police) will often have a crime scene open for three or four days. The
result is that it increases the fear of crime because tape etc. is seen for much longer.”
• “Over half of knife crime is robbery but not all robbery involves a knife.”
• Response times are improved compared to last year. 82·4% (I have no
idea what that figure means and no Councillor asked.) Cars are controlled from
Lambeth and from there cars are mapped and optimum response times calculated.
• 300 officers are now dedicated to response in Bexleyheath twice as many as not long ago.
• There is a variety of gangs in the borough with different motivations and they
are targeted with good success.