SHORTLANDS SAFER NEIGHBOURHOOD WARD
Public Meeting
Minutes of the 2017 Public Meeting
held on Thursday 15 June 2017 at 7.30pm in the Friends Room, St. Mary’s Church, Shortlands
Present:-Graham Pyefinch (GP) Chairman; Mike Rickets (MR) Vice Chair; Kira Gabbert (KG) Treasurer; Cllr. Mary Cooke (MC); Brian Cooke (BC); Werner Schluep (WS); Nick Aziz (NA); Gloria Pickering (GP); Frances Murray (FM); Kathy French (KF); Suzanna Shelton (SS); Jenny King (JK); David Hall (DH); David Amos (DA); Richard Hockham (RH); Dieter Gramlich (DG); DWO PC Russell Edwards (RE); DWO PCSO Adam Charles (AC).
Apologies for absencehad been received from Roger Parry (Secretary), Cllr. David Jefferys, David Keall, Elizabeth Barnes, Robert Barnes, Peter White, Sam Nevin, Margaret Shaw, Glen Urquhart and Patricia Braithwaite. In Roger Parry’s absence, KG was appointed to act as a secretary for this meeting only.

  1. Chairman’s Introductions and Annual Report.GP welcomed everybody to the meeting and introduced the police officers. He also welcomed David Amos, who has recently joined the Bromley Neighbourhood Watch Association Executive, and Cllr. Mary Cooke. GP then proceeded to deliver the Chairman’s Annual Report for the period July 2016 - June 2017, summing up the events and achievements of the Panel during the year. A copy of the report is attached to these Minutes.
  • GP announced that he had attendedBromley Safer Neighbourhood Public Board Meeting, held on 13thJune. GP proceeded to briefly summarize the issues discussed at the meeting, as follows:
  1. There was an inspiring presentation by the Youth Council; they reported on the work undertaken in the past year and outlined their future projects such as “the crime and gang culture” project.
  1. Sergeant Mark Damien gave an update on SmartWater. GP mentioned that AC would be giving a talk on SmartWater at a later point of the meeting.
  • The Bromley Commander Chris Halford reported the following developments:
  • since April there had been an overall increase in crime, particularly burglaries (up by 2.6%) and vehicle crime, although assaults were down;
  • there is a reduction programme for burglaries in place;
  • they are looking to combine Borough Command Units in the Met’s 32 boroughs possibly down to 12, but that is yet to be determined;
  • by December, all wards will have an extra DWO (and that includes Shortlands);
  • Bromley police are now 2 under strength;
  • Community Impact Days are being rolled out;
  • overall, the situation is now back to normal after the recent troubles in the capital;
  • Chris Halford emphasised the crucial importance of calling 101/999 to report any suspicious activities.
  1. Sergeant Stuart Baker reported on motorbike / scooter crime situation. The police, except the trained drivers, will not chase scooters. As Residents may be aware, since recently West Wickham has been plagued by a gang of youths on bicycles carrying knives and threatening younger children for their mobile phones, there is a Police plan in place to deal with these issues. This does not affect Shortlands too much, however children of Shortlands residents often go into parks / use recreational facilities in the affected area, hence this is a concern for Shortlands Ward too.
  1. There was a presentation on Ward Security which is dog handling. They have highly trained personnel, the police work with them; also they work with Toby Smith, head of street enforcement at the Bromley Council.
  1. Fire brigade talked about the risk assessments and what they do about anti-social behaviour where fires and arson is concerned. They stressed the importance of intelligence in such circumstances.
  1. SmartWater presentation.

AC gave a presentation on SmartWater. SmartWater is an international crime fighting and crime prevention company.SmartWater provides customers with ‘traceable liquid’ that has a unique chemical composition / forensic code. The liquid is applied to customers’ valuable possessions; once applied the liquid is almost impossible to remove and can only be seen under UV light. The unique liquid code is registered on SmartWater database. In case any stolen assets are recovered by the police, these can be easily traced back to their rightful owner. Practically any asset can be registered and secured in this way. The liquid is guaranteed to last for a minimum of 5 years and is supplied with distinctive warning posters to display around the property, with the posters aimed to act as a powerful crime deterrent.
The Panel members can use a special discount code which brings the cost of the service down to £25 one-off fee, rather than £59.88 per year standard fee.
The website of the company is:
Discount code is: L5PY25NW
GP inquired if it would be possible for Shortlands to get SmartWater lamppost warning signs stating that the properties in the area are being protected by SmartWater. GP said that the residents associations would probably be happy to help put such posters up. RE answered that SmartWater should be approached with this question. BC cautioned against attaching warning signs / posters to lampposts without prior Council’s approval, as this may not be legal. GP thanked BC and will ensure such permission would be sought.

  1. Shortlands Ward police report on local crime and results.

AC delivered his report. Overall the figures for the period between last Panel meeting in April and the present meeting show a drop in crime (particularly for burglary), compared to the previous period. (Burglary (dwelling) figures: 10/02/17 – 06/04/17: 5 cases; 07/04/17 – 15/06/17: 2 cases).
Compared to the same period last year, we have also seen a significant drop (from 10 burglary cases last year down to 2 cases this year).
Motor vehicle crime remained roughly at the same level as has been reported in the last period.
AC mentioned that he had recently become aware of unreported incidents of theft from motor vehicle and/or vehicle interference. AC emphasised the importance of reporting ALL incidents to the police, as this would allow for crime preventative measures to be employed, such as arranging extra patrols, shift changes and directing resources towards a particular area.
AC took an opportunity to remind everyone to close all windows when going out, and to close car windows before leaving vehicles. This advice is especially relevant in warm summer weather when windows are often left open during the day.
A short discussion followed on car thefts. There had been instances reported of criminals re-programming electronic car keys using advanced technology. The current advice is to turn electronic fobs off, or put them into a metal box, when not in use and not to leave car (or house) keys in hallways and other easy-to-reach areas (criminals may try and fish keys out through letterboxes etc).
Another discussion followed on latest scams in the area, specifically about a young male claiming to collect money on residents’ doorsteps on behalf of Race For Life. GP said that he had telephoned the charity in question and no such person was known to them. Everyone agreed that it was necessary to remain extra vigilant and to check credentials of strangers very carefully.

  1. Police Initiatives and Results.

Speeding issues update:
GP asked about further progress made by the police in controlling speeding in the area. RE responded that they have used a speed gun in Wickham Way, Hayes Lane and Pickhurst Lane recently; they have stopped quite a few cars driving just below the threshold required to issue the ticket, and educated them. In addition, two section 59 warnings (driving in an anti-social manner) have been issued.
RE also answered a question about mobile phone usage behind the wheel. RE noted that they are seeing less of it; RE would pull such drivers up if it’s practical to do so.
GP thanked the police officers for the work they have done. RE assured the meeting that speed checks would be continued in the area.
RE is hoping to allocate 1-2 days a month to conduct speed checks in Shortlands Ward; whilst RE is still awaiting his own speed gun training, a fully trained colleague from another ward assists with the checks.
Community Impact Day update:
Following up on the discussion at the previous meeting, GP had some ideas for the community impact days which could include the following: police conducting walks around Shortlands to spot and to talk to the residents’ about security weaknesses; more speed checks; night patrols.
RE confirmed that, at this point in time, he has not been given any firm dates for this event to be held in Shortlands. RE anticipates that Shortlands would be holding an Impact Day together with another ward.
GP noted that it would be useful for the fire brigade to join the police on walks around the Ward, advising residents on fire safety.
A member of the Panel asked how members can help to advertise this event within wider community; RE answered that they preferred not to advertise such events widely, as this could potentially defy the point of conducting various checks on the day.
Bicycle marking kits:
RE noted that there was an increase in bicycle theft. Young adults and children nowadays ride quite expensive bicycles that are often targeted by criminals. RE has explained that they have free bicycle marking kits available; if anyone is interested in marking their bicycle they should email RE or AC and they can arrange it.
Shortlands Police Twitter account:
RE has mentioned that their Twitter account (@MPSShortlands) is gaining popularity and already has appx 170 followers. RE would like to encourage residents (those who use Twitter) to follow the page as it provides useful and up-to-date insights into the work of our police team.

  1. Shortlands Ward local crime concerns. Update on parking issues around Harris Primary Academy Shortlands by Cllr. Mary Cooke.

Cllr. Mary Cooke has confirmed that at this moment Bromley Council officials are not convinced that putting any more yellow lines on the roads near the school would be justified. They currently see problems only at 2 points of the day, being the school drop off and pick up time.
BC has commented that, in fact, double yellow lines may have an undesired effect of increasing the speed of passing vehicles. Parked vehicles slow traffic down, and outside of schools this is a good thing. GP has noted that the problems start when cars are parked on both sides of the road, so that the road essentially becomes a single lane; dispersing parking bays along the road may be preferable.
AC has added that there is also a problem with drivers parking on zigzags near Highfield Schools.
Cllr. Mary Cooke continued to say that Shortlands Residents Association did a parking survey and came up with a very good document. The Council considered this document very seriously. There is a meeting with a portfolio holder scheduled for 27thJune to discuss the findings. BC noted that the Council already agreed to put some double-yellow lines at certain particularly vulnerable junctions. MR noted that, although agreed, the actual works would not be completed until the autumn. MR will provide an update on further developments after the meeting takes place.

  1. Ward Promises and Priorities. Currently these are:-

* tackling serious crime;
* tackling anti-social behaviour (including speeding);
* tackling theft of and from motor vehicles.
It was agreed that the priorities should remain unchanged.

  1. Any Other Business.

GP confirmed that he would be attending the next Cluster meeting on 21stJune (now postponed to 5thJuly) and would report any important issues to in due course.

  1. Date of next meeting.At the current venue at 7.30pm, 3rdAugust 2017.

The meeting closed at 8.50pm followed by refreshments.
Kira Gabbert
Acting as the secretary of the Meeting
Shortlands Safer Neighbourhood Panel – Chairman’s Annual Report
AGM 15thJune 2017
Hopefully you will agree that we have had another successful year in upholding the Shortlands Ward community spirit on safety and maintaining the close association we have with our local police team.
I would like to thank all of you for your continued support, not least our Vice Chair Mike Ricketts, our Secretary Roger Parry, our Treasurer Kira Gabbert , our Councillors Cllr Mary Cooke and Cllr David Jefferys, and our Dedicated Ward Police Team PC Russell Edwards and PCSO Adam Charles, led by our Ward Sgt Rob Goodwin. Without you all it just wouldn’t operate.
Over the past year we have hadtalkson Council Road Safety Policies, the Police Command Call Centre, and Fraudulent Document Awareness by the Bromley Police Counter Terrorism Team.
We havediscussedvarious issues of concern to Shortlands residents including speeding, thefts from vehicles, burglaries and the like. We continue to be a relatively safe Ward but I cannot emphasise enough the importance of reporting crime or suspicious activity to the Police Team using 101. This really does help the Police target crime hot spots and this in turn helps us all remain safe. Only the other day I had instances of unreported car break-ins, probable using the latest software to intercept fob key transmission, and of the three residents concerned none had reported the break-ins. If they had been reported, our local Police team may well have been able to request extra patrols from the Bromley Task Teams to target the hot spots, even at night, so that suspects may have been caught. I understand that the reason why residents don’t always report a crime is because they believe there is no chance of catching the criminals or getting their property back; this is a mistake as there is no reported local intelligence the Police can work on in the first place.
Of course, we can never be crime free but perhaps you will agree that taking sensible security precautions and reporting suspicious activity are keys to maintaining a safe environment for our elderly and families. We don’t want criminals thinking we are a soft touch.
Whilst appreciating all that our Police do and making residents aware of how the intelligence we can provide and the protective measures we can all take to keep criminals at bay, I have long taken the view that although we cannot lose sight of the basic criminal activities such as anti-social behaviour, burglaries and car thefts and the like, still prevalent in our society, criminal methodologies have changed over recent years. By that I mean the increase in cyber-crime, cold calling and telephone scams, ideology led (or misled) crime, gang crime and how our Police are developing new tactics and technologies to fight such crime. Enough is enough!
However, I do think that although much crime has reduced and we will never again see the “bobby on the beat” as much as we did in the past, we do still need a greater police presence in our communities. A policeman can’t be in all places at once which is why the extra DWO for Shortlands Ward by the end of this year is most welcome. But if we are to report crime we need to be sure that there is adequate backup in the Call Centres taking 101 or 999 calls. The additional Police budget cuts over the next 4 years no longer sits well with me or, perhaps, with your good-selves. So I would propose that the time is ripe to call for more Police funding and should be made one of the government top considerations. If anarchy takes hold and prevails, then clearly unwanted social consequences flow.
Graham Pyefinch