Police News: West Barnes SNT Newsletter June 2011

The ward panel, consisting of 12 local residents from the ward, met on 16th May 2011 and, having reviewed the crime data on the ward for the months of February, March and April decided to keep Burglary and Theft from Motor Vehicles as the ward priorities.

These are the two highest crime types for the area and the latest analysis for the ward shows five house burglaries in the month of May and five thefts from motor vehicles.

Regarding the burglaries all were entered through the rear of the house. They failed to get in on 2 of these and all were between the hours on midday to 01.00 in the morning.

This is a significant reduction compared to February 2011 when there were 18 on the ward and shows how working together this problem can be reduced.

I have written a lot on previous newsletters about this issue so will not dwell on it this time but can I ask you keep the calls coming in on 999 if you see strangers in a neighbour’s garden, people jumping fences, people hanging around the alleys at the side or rear of houses.

Regarding the thefts from motor vehicles 3 of these were thefts from vans parked in the high vehicle parking area in B&Q car park.

I have seen many of the vans used by trades people from the ward in the car park and I strongly advise you park at the Trade Point End of the car park and not the Corals entrance on Burlington Road.

The offenders pick on the vans at the Corals end as it is so close to the exit and there is less foot traffic there. If there is a second person in your van then it will be best if one person stays with it while the other goes into the store.

We have been working with B&Q for several months on how to improve the security and I hope to report something positive soon.

Other Crime News

Ricardo De Freitas from Chessington, Surrey pleaded guilty at Wimbledon Magistrates Court to three counts of making off without paying for petrol from the Esso Garage on Shannons Corner.

He was sentenced on 20th May to a two month curfew monitored by electronic tag, ordered to pay £120.42 compensation, £50.00 costs, banned from driving for 55 days and given a Community Order.

Forecourt Watch is an ongoing operation across the Metropolitan Police area working with garages to improve their security and bringing offenders to justice.

Noise Nuisance

One of the most frequent calls to the Police is about excessive noise from neighbours or parties. These are mainly dealt with by the Environmental Health section of Merton Council.

We work with this agency and pass complaints on to them. Did you know they have a call out team on Friday and Saturday evenings who can attend and deal with complaints?

Noise from parties

A noise control service operates from 11pm-4am on Fridays from late June until early September and Saturdays throughout the year (except Christmas and New Year).

The service operates in conjunction with police in order to control noise from parties. Should you be affected by noise at these times please contact the council's out of hours service on 020 8543 9750.

Further information about what they can and can’t deal with can be found at http://www.merton.gov.uk/pollution/noise

We often resolve these complaints just by putting the informant in contact with their neighbour and giving everyone the opportunity to discuss their needs and find common ground.

If this does not work then it may be suitable for the Environmental Health Team to get involved. Below is the advice from Environmental Health about reducing noise.

Reducing noise

Please help to make Merton a quiet and peaceful place to live by following this advice. Environmental Health receives hundreds of complaints each year about noise from various sources that affect local residents.

By far the biggest source of complaints is noise from neighbours. Whilst we all hear noise from our neighbours from time to time, too much noise in the wrong place at the wrong time can cause friction between neighbours.

This can be from amplified music, voices, impact noise from floors and doors, DIY and gardening activities, noisy domestic appliances, parties and outdoor social events which continue late into the evening.

As part of the council’s awareness campaign to encourage people to have regard to others please consider whether any noise you make could be causing a nuisance or disturbance to others.

You can minimise the likelihood of disturbing neighbours by:

Keeping down the volume of amplified music, TVs etc., placing speakers away from partition walls, and not putting speakers in the garden;
Having regard to your neighbours if you are having a party; finish at a reasonable time and let them know in advancel
Choosing domestic appliances with quiet noise ratings and making sure noisy domestic appliances are away from party walls -- on a mat or carpet to reduce vibration, and using them at sensible hours to reduce disturbance;
Making sure that burglar alarms are regularly serviced and keyholder details are registered with the council; it would be very helpful if you could let your neighbours know who to contact if your alarm should sound;
Informing neighbours before carrying out noisy DIY jobs and doing them at times when they are less likely to disturb anyone;
If you are having building works carried out, restrict any noisy activities to between 8am and 6pm Monday to Fridays, 8am to 1pm on Saturdays and no noisy activities on Sundays or Bank Holidays
Using noisy garden power tools at times when they are less likely to disturb anyone;
Not leaving dogs unattended in the house or garden for long periods as they are more likely to bark if they are lonely, bored or unhappy; keep them well exercised and try to ensure they are supervised;
Not shouting, avoiding slamming doors and walking quietly up and down stairs;
Generally trying to be a good neighbour and ensure that your “good time” does not become someone else’s nuisance.