Saint Joseph's Neighbourhood Watch   (Upper Norwood, London, U.K.)

Meeting held 8pm Thurs 12th September 2002, at the usual address

There were 12 people present:  Joan Burch, Janet and Gilbert Payne, Stephen Tarling, Tricia Whyte, Ann Murphy, Cyril King, Ron Dawe, Harold Lockwood, Kate Jinadu, Russell and Gill Ashley-Smith.   In addition, police officers PC Colin Herron and WPC Carole McDonagh attended.

Apologies were received from:  Mr M Parvez, Kay and Derek Smith, Danny Blake, Chrissie and Pete Silver, Ron and Pat Kremis, Tish and Maurice Golding, Antje and Mark Stein.   Several of the apologies had come as a result of the reminders about this meeting which Janet and Gil Payne had kindly produced and arranged to be delivered to many houses.

Russell reported that Amelia and Peter Harris had moved away.  He had written expressing gratitude for the work Amelia did, in typing up the meeting notes, getting copies from the police, and arranging distribution of them to the people who deliver in each road.   We now need other people to take on Amelia's roles.
· Gill Ashley-Smith offered to type the notes.
· Janet and Gil Payne, and Kate Jinadu, offered to organised distribution.

Warm thanks were also given to Chrissie and Pete Silver for hosting the Garden Party.   Next summer they will be holding an Open Garden Day for charity.  We will get more details and encourage our members to support this.

Russell has written and thanked Hugh Norwood-Collins and Bob Thompson for their kind gift of the crockery and silver-plate cutlery which they have donated to SJNW for use at garden parties.   The Silvers are currently looking after this (and have used it for another event).    It is available for other members to borrow, with care, for special occasions.

Russell is developing an email circulation list, so that any crimes, or warnings, can be circulated quickly.   So if you have an email, please send a message to Russell, so he can add your address to the list (which will be kept confidential).
 

POLICE REPORT: 
PC Colin Herron is our beat officer.  He reported that PC Kevin Holland left last week.  He introduced PC Carole McDonald, who has another beat, but works closely with him.

Marker pens: PC Herron brought yellow marker pens, which can be used to give invisible identification on property, so it can be returned if found by the police.   You write the postcode and house number in an area which is not polished - this can only be read by ultraviolet light.   The card with it explains how to discover your mobile phone’s ID number, by entering    *#06# .  This number, as well as your phone number, can help police return your stolen phone.     Russell has some spares of these pens.   Please call at the usual address or come to the next meeting to pick one up.  You can pass yours on to a neighbour when you have used it.

Crime Report for the last 3 months:   PC Herron emphasised that ALL crime should be reported, as police levels are adjusted in response to the numbers of reports.  Many people do not bother to report car theft crime.  But reporting it will help your neighbours, as more reports mean more police vigilance in the area.

In our Watch area, no crime had been reported in these roads:  Arnulls Rd, Hollies Close, Averil Cres, Holman Gdns, Jerviston Gdns.    He did not have figures for Beulah Hill.

There had been 5 burglaries:
· Ryecroft Rd in July - a man entered through the rear early morning
· Gibson’s Hill in July - a garage was entered overnight
· Gibson’s Hill in July - entry through a patio door overnight (it may have been left open)
· Leafield Close in July - 2 men seen entering at rear late afternoon
· Leafield Close in Sept - (the most serious crime)  an old lady was followed home by a man who knocked on the door, then pushed her over and stole her pension.

Other crimes:

This indicates more crime than previously.   Old people answering the door can be vulnerable. You can fill in forms for the Water board (also gas and electric) giving them a special password – then you can insist officials quote this to prove they are genuine.   They is also a scheme for old people – to have a sensor round the neck, connected to a phone, to press in case of emergency.  It costs £1.50/week.  Colin Herron will get more information for us about these schemes.

PC Herron apologised that his email was not yet working, and that the ring-master system for reporting crime was still not established.   If we have any non-urgent concerns, we can contact the officers on their mobiles:
PC Colin Herron:  079 0953 5822,  PC Carole McDonagh: 079 0953 5827,   Office: 8649 1103

Questions: Janet asked if police walk round Norwood Grove? The chains locking the gates have been stolen (more than once?) and the council spent £500 replacing them. The Park Ranger suspects 2 men who protested about the locks, but cannot prove it.   PC Herron said he does walk round the parks, and will keep an eye on this.

He was asked what advice there is when burglar alarms go off – do we try to enter if we have a key to see what is wrong?   He advised NOT to enter for at least an hour, for your own safety.  Instead phone the police and say you have a key.   Comments were made, however, that the police often do not come unless an intruder has been seen, due to the number of false alarms.

Kate asked about the number of parked cars with “For Sale” labels at the top of Ryecroft Rd, causing an obstruction.   PC Herron confirmed they cannot sell on the street without a trader's licence.  He will look into this, and if there are several cars there, he will arrange for them to be removed.

The number of police in the area is now increasing.  The Norbury Police Station is staffed 24 hours a day, and the front office is open to the public 11am-7pm. CCTV’s are now operating in Norbury.   The North Norbury Residents' Association has does much to encourage these improvements.  They have 150 members and cover not only crime issues but also rubbish, parking, fly-tipping etc.

The police were warmly thanked for attending the meeting, and left for their other duties.
 

OTHER MATTERS:
Concern was expressed that it was 6 months since our last business meeting.  Should meetings be more frequent, and at a regular day of the month to help people remember to come?    Others felt that the usual months of Sept, Dec, March and June (garden party) were frequent enough – although we may consider whether a business meeting as well as a garden party should be held in the summer.

Stephen Tarling apologised that the web site was not up-to-date, as he had been ill.   He would now update it, and he also hoped to arrange a simpler web-site address.

It was agreed that we should update the list of trades people (eg plumbers etc) recommended by members of the Watch.    Forms can go out with the minutes for recommendations to be made.

The next meeting will be on Thursday 5th December, 8pm, at the usual address (see printed newsletter for further details).
Please note this date in diaries
 

Co-ordinators

Russell Ashley-Smith, E-mail: russell@sjnw.co.uk   (new email)
Peter Silver,  E-mail: pete@sjnw.co.uk
Tricia Whyte,  for contact details see the printed newsletter
 
 

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