The police consider that Neighbourhood Watch to be a key tool in combating crime and are keen to see more streets covered by NW schemes. Much crime is prevented and detected, and many criminals arrested, thanks to reports from NW and local residents being alert to unusual or suspicious activity.
Currently, only 20 of the 35 streets in Bedford Park have some form of NW coverage, and much of that is patchy. If you would like to join an existing NW scheme, or volunteer to start a new one, please contact your Safer Neighbourhood Team (contact details below).
NW members belong to a scheme run by a Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator. The co-ordinator controls the scheme membership list, acts as a conduit between the police and members, and circulates police crime information and other updates to members, typically by means of a monthly newsletter.
The latest issue of Acton News covering five local wards including Southfields is now available.
Safer Neighbourhood Ward Panel
The Safer Neighbourhood Ward Panel, made up of members of the community who live or work within that ward, meets regularly with the local police Safer Neighbourhood Team.
The panel discusses the concerns facing the local community around crime and anti-social behaviour and agrees ‘promises’ with the local police team about how issues will be tackled.
The panel also works with the police team and local partner agencies, such as the council, to find lasting solutions to local crime issues. Panel members are elected annually at an AGM open to all who live or work in the ward.
If you would like to become a member of your panel, or to find out more, please contact your Safer Neighbourhood Team (details below).
Local Safer Neighbourhood Team contact details
For Ealing, your team is the Southfield SNT:
Tel: 020 8721 2946
Email: southfield.snt@met.police.uk
Website: Southfield
Twitter: @MPSSouthfield
For Hounslow, your team is the Chiswick Homefields SNT:
Tel: 020 8247 6515
Email: chiswickhomefields.snt@met.police.uk
Website: Hounslow
Twitter: @MPSChiswick
Useful contacts for reporting crime
- Non-emergency dial 101
- Emergency dial 999
- Crime Stoppers: 0800 555 111
- Action Fraud: 0300 123 2040 or www.actionfraud.police.uk
- To report anti-social behaviour:
– Ealing: 020 8825 5994 or email: safercommunities@ealing.gov.uk
– Hounslow: dial 101 or email: chiswickhomefields.snt@met.police.uk
- Chiswick Police Station, 209-211 Chiswick High Road, w4 2DU. Opening hours: 9am-5pm Monday-Friday
- To report graffiti or fly-tipping:
– Ealing: 020 8825 8825 or go to ealing.gov.uk
– Hounslow: dial 101 or online to Hounslow Council
- For local crime details: uk
Preventing crime
Crimes in the area are generally low but the majority are thefts from cars and burglaries from homes.
- A surprising number of thefts are from cars accidentally left unlocked. Always double check you’ve locked your car when you leave it and check that it hasn’t been unlocked by unintentionally pressing the remote control in a pocket or handbag.
- Don’t leave valuable or attractive items, even loose change in the car, and make sure items are out of sight if you do have to leave them. Phones, tablets, and laptops should never be left with ‘Bluetooth’ activated as thieves can easily detect them even if they are hidden.
- Motorcycle and scooter theft is also a problem and the police have stepped up their patrols in some streets.
- Sash windows often provide burglars with easy access to a house. Make sure yours cannot be forced open by fitting them with secure locks.
- High hedges and fences provide cover for burglars, and enable them to break into houses without being seen from the street.
- The police Safer Neighbourhood Team will be only too happy to visit you to give you free advice about how to make your house more secure.
- If you see a crime being committed, or suspect a crime is about to be committed, report it immediately by dialling 999. To report anything less urgent, dial 101. To report fraud or attempted fraud, go to actionfraudpolice.uk.
- The police are keen to encourage us to report all crimes and suspicious activities, no matter how trivial, in case they need to focus their activities on a particular area. If you’re in doubt, report it anyway and the police can make the decision about whether or not it is important to them.
- Mark all your valuable items with SmartWater, an invisible forensically traceable liquid, which uniquely marks the property as belonging to you. Available from smartwater.com or if you live in Ealing borough, the Southfield Safer Neighbourhood Team may be able to supply you with a free kit. Also, register all your valuable items online on a secure website such as immobilise.com.
- Keep a record of bicycle serial numbers. Police compounds are full of bicycles, which cannot be returned to their owners, because they haven’t kept a record of the serial numbers, and/or the bikes are not security marked.