London magazine January 2018

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NEWS in brief Raids ruin fake trade MORE than £76m worth of fake goods were taken off the streets of Dubai this year as the authorities sought to tackle a global trade that damages legitimate businesses and fuels organised crime and terrorism. From knock-off luxury bags from Louis Vuitton and Burberry to cheap unauthorised car parts that could cause accidents, sellers were targeted in a large number of raids and seizures. Weight loss drugs and anti-aging treatments were also commonly faked. Once largely sold in the bustling streets of Karama, many are now promoted via social media accounts and WhatsApp and delivered to tourists' and residents' hotels and homes. The value of the seizures was revealed at the Regional Intellectual Property Crime Conference which aims to strengthen cooperation among international law enforcement. Benefit fraud rises BENEFIT fraud has reached record levels after it rose by £200?million in the space of a year, the Department of Work and Pensions has admitted. Fraud swallowed up almost £2.1?billion of the department’s total budget of £174 billion – the equivalent of £40 million per week. It means the DWP now loses almost twice as much money to fraud as the entire £1.1 billion yearly budget of the Foreign Office. Open for mince pies and a festive hug SHASHI and Pallu Patel get one day off a year – Christmas Day. But they gave up their festive celebration day to offer anyone visiting their Meet and Deep newsagents “a mince pie and a hug”. With help from their sons Deepen and Meeten the Twickenham couple, who have run the shop for 35 years since arriving in the UK from Uganda, used to take Christmas Day off as their one day of rest. But eight years ago when an elderly neighbour was scammed out of all of her pension money by conmen posing as boiler repair men, they invited her over for Christmas Day, starting a tradition that still lives on. “She had no family and was scared,” said Deepen. “We warned others about what had happened to Dorothy, then people started giving donations for her, little sweets or food for her cat. “We invited Dorothy over on Christmas Day. We gave her the big sack of presents we’d collected and she cried and said it was the best Christmas of her life.” From then on, the family realised that other people would be alone and in need of some help over the Christmas period. “Although it’s a lovely time of year, it can be tough for others,” Deepen added. “People feel they have no one to talk to because everyone is preoccupied celebrating, they don’t want to bring them down.” The family began opening the shop on Christmas Day, welcoming anyone who is lonely to join them for a mince pie and a chat. Their guests have not only included older people, but divorcees whose children are spending the day with the other partner. “One man who came in had just got divorced, so his children were with his ex-wife. He had all the food and the presents at home but no one to celebrate with,” said Deepen. Even though Christmas Day was the one day off they had all year, the family still think it is worth going into work. “My parents are getting a bit old, so we asked them if they wanted to not work. But they said no, they want to make sure they are serving the people who rely on them.” Although the Patels are Hindu, they believe in celebrating all religious festivals. “We have the tree and the decorations, a special meal, light some candles and have a crucifix,” Deepen said. “In Hinduism the main message is to help everybody in life, especially those less fortunate. Everybody should have somebody at Christmas, so we try to be that somebody.” Sites closed down OVER 15,000 websites have been suspended for selling counterfeit products Between March and November 2017, 15,420 illicit websites selling counterfeit goods have been suspended by the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU). Europol’s Intellectual Property Crime Coordinated Coalition (IPC), the US National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Centre and law enforcement authorities from 27 EU Member States and third parties have suspended over 20,520 domain names in total, 15,420 of which were from the UK. Kindhearted Shashi and Pallu Patel 10 LONDON COMMUNITY WATCH MAGAZINE www.whocanyoutrust.org.uk Tel: 01268-566 743 Mob: 07958 475 392
Hillingdon and Sutton Neighbourhood Watch news your part of the road or block of flats, please let them know. Banning order LEE Taylor from Wallington has been issued with a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) that bans him for five years from drinking alcohol or being drunk in a public place in England and Wales. This CBO ensures that Taylor will be unable to continue to drink and cause disorderly behaviour in and around Wallington, and other places in Sutton or even outside of Sutton. Happy HIllingdon members proudly show off their award Hillingdon’s top award HILLINGDON Neighbourhood Watch has just picked up an award at the annual Volunteer Awards night. They were nominated by Inspector Rob Bryan, Link Officer for Hillingdon Neighbourhood Watch, who said: “The Watch steering group produce a regular newsletter and they grow and maintain watch schemes across the Borough. “They attend public events to promote neighbourhood watch and hand out free crime prevention kits. Their role requires them to keep in contact with hundreds of neighbourhood watch co-ordinators and ensure every watch is running smoothly. “In the last few years they have increased the number of active watches in Hillingdon and have achieved this not only in the more affluent parts of the borough but also within those where it was felt it was hard to reach. “Their newsletter and their drive to keep watches active has played a part in the decrease in burglaries in Hillingdon since 2012.” Coordinators appeal SUTTON is looking for more street coordinators. Although they have members in virtually every street, some residents have moved on so they do not have a street coordinator. A number of roads need more than one coordinator because of the length or density of housing, especially where there are blocks of flats. So if you are able to keep an eye on Fakes crackdown TRADING Standards and Sutton Police officers carried out a series of visits to premises in Sutton High Street following concerns from residents about shops selling fake goods. The operation targeted several new arrivals to the High Street and mobile phone accessory shops with several items being seized or removed from sale. Residents are advised to be cautious when buying items which appear too good to be true - they may be fake or unsafe. New Commander CHIEF Inspector Robyn Williams has taken over as the new Borough Commander of Sutton. Robyn is looking forward to the challenges ahead and said she is looking forward to mobilising the sklills of officers and keen to meet residents.. Moped crime raises concerns SUTTON Neighbourhood Watch Committee recently wrote to the chairman of the Independent Police Complaints Complaints Commission expressing their concern over the rising number of moped crime in London. They were equally concerned that disciplinary action against four officers involved in the pursuit of Henry Hicks has resulted not only in the rise in moped crime but also in the difficulties the police have in pursuing those involved in such cases. Sutton Neighbourhood Watch is one of the largest and most successful Watches in London with 6,540 members and covering 83% of households in the borough. They have a good relationship with the local police and because of that positive relationship Sutton is one of the safest boroughs in London. The letter stated that: “We appreciate the difficulties faced by operational policing, especially with the current level of pressure upon the MPS, and are concerned to note the dramatic rise in crimes being committed by those on powered two-wheel vehicles (mopeds or motorcycles) in London, and the apparent inability of the police to pursue such criminals. “It appears to us that the IPCC decision to direct the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to conduct formal disciplinary charges against the four officers involved in the Henry Hicks case has resulted in the MPS decision to instruct officers not to pursue those committing crimes on powered two-wheel vehicles, and that decision has put, and is putting, the public at risk. “There has been a dramatic increase in crimes in this category in the 12 months up to June 2017 in which 16,158 incidents of theft by use of these vehicles were recorded by the MPS. This compares with 5,145 such incidents recorded between June 2015 and June 2016, and the rise to 16,158 to June 2017 represents almost a threefold increase. “Our understanding is that these are not individuals committing opportunistic crime but the same offenders committing crime time and time again with many deliberately removing motorcycle helmets to prevent being pursued by police. These offenders therefore appear to be “getting away” with committing often violent attacks on innocent members on the public.” Met Commissioner Cressida Dick said recently she had been shocked by the "extraordinary rise" in moped crime but said offences fell by 24% between June and September. Figures show the main London boroughs affected by moped crime are Hackney, Islington, Westminster and Camden and culprits are predominantly aged 14-19. But the IPPC has responded to Sutton saying that although there were 32 deaths as a result of 28 police related road traffic incidents in 2016-17, there is NO instruction to the Metropolitan Police that pursuit drivers should not pursue vehicles. Tel: 01268-566 743 Mob: 07958 475 392 www.whocanyoutrust.org.uk LONDON COMMUNITY WATCH MAGAZINE 11
Page 1 and 2: Issue 16 January 2018 Community Wat
Page 3 and 4: Mayor Sadiq Khan keeps a pledge on
Page 5 and 6: The real Andrew McCabe, acting dire
Page 7 and 8: Call for tower blocks to have bette
Page 9: Trading Standards demands action by

London magazine January 2018

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