In an emergency call the police on 999 or, for non-emergencies ring 101. You can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

THE FOLLOWING IS IN THE PROCESS OF BEING UPDATED, NAMES AND NUMBERS MAY HAVE CHANGED
The team is led by Inspector Steven Murfin and includes Sergeant Daniel Sullivan, PCs Michael Murray and Faisal Shabbir and PCSOs Tosun Gulakdeniz and Nicola Hallett. The Hornsey Road Police Station is no longer open to the public, but if you would like to meet a member of the team or discuss anything with them they can be phoned on 020 8721 2814, via their website or through social media (@metpoliceuk). If you need to report a crime phone 0300 123 1212 and ask for Holloway Police Station. As always the number for emergencies is 999, but a new number, 101, can be used for non-emergency calls.
8/11/17
I’m PC Faisal Shabbir attached to Hillrise SNT - this is just a quick message to introduce Hillrise safer neighbourhood team to Next Door and a few updates from the team. At the moment, we have one police sergeant: Daniel Sullivan, one police officer: PC Faisal Shabbir and one police community support officer PCSO Nicola Hallett. We are not used for other policing duties and dedicated to the ward. We regularly patrol the ward, tackle anti-social behaviour and crime and combat longer term problems facing some of our residents. We will be holding weekly community events run by the team. It will be an opportunity to come and meet the team and raise any concerns you may have. All dates will be advertised on our website and Twitter. If you are concerned about anti-social behaviour and crime in your area then please do contact us and someone from the team will contact you. We are always keen to know about issues early on and you contact us by any of the means below.
We want to announce that you may now choose to forward important Crime & Safety posts to Islington Police via Nextdoor. We want to be very clear that this is NOT a tool to report emergencies or to report a crime officially. It's very important that you call 999 in the case of an emergency. As always, we cannot view any content that you do not choose to directly forward to Islington Police. We cannot see the posts and replies that are made in your neighbourhood. We cannot see the posts and replies that are made in your neighbourhood. You can join Nexdoor here.

Moped Crime & Muggings

Recent months have seen an increase in these crimes locally, with a sharp escalation of phone snatches by men on mopeds and, more distressingly, gangs of six or so youths robbing single pedestrians, mainly schoolchildren, sometimes violently. The main areas for the latter seem to be Pauntley Street, Harberton Road, Whitehall Park and Gladsmuir Road, though the whole of the WHPARA area has been affected, with a robbery at knifepoint recently on Hornsey Lane. Police believe that they know the suspects, who wear balaclavas and hoodies, but are unable to do anything unless the villains are caught in the act.

Moped Thief

From David Poyser

Local Councillor David Poyser posted the following on our Facebook group:

“The recent BBC documentary ‘Inside Britain’s Moped Crime Gangs’ prominently featured an Islington based young man, boasting about the ease with which he makes large sums of money from moped enabled theft. It’s clear that many people who live and work here are understandably concerned about this issue.

Far from being a relatively harmless offence as the perpetrators may believe, moped enabled theft is both violent and dangerous. As well as the immediate impact on the victims, by riding on pavements often at high speeds, the perpetrators risk harming other members of the public including small children.

It’s clear that in the community justifiable fears about this type of crime have bled into wider concerns about young people who are involved in crime and anti-social behaviour. Islington Councillors recognise the seriousness of moped enabled theft and are taking practical steps to deter young people from committing these offences in the future.

Here are a few key points on the action the police and the council are taking to address these serious issues:

  • The moped issue is a London-wide one, affecting areas beyond Islington. We are working with the Deputy Mayor and the Police to target the criminal networks making large sums of money from these crimes.
  • Our local police now have a dedicated team tasked with catching offenders. By working with ‘Operation Gondola’ the pan London police operation, offences in Islington have reduced by a third since last year.
  • Islington have supported the police in using ‘stingers’ and other techniques to end pursuits and apprehend perpetrators.
  • Islington are investing £500k per year on additional diversionary work for young people as young as 7 who are at risk of offending including mentoring and employment support.
  • Islington’s reformed Youth Offending Team have drastically cut the number of first time entrants and reduced our youth custody rate to its lowest level since Labour came to power in Islington in 2010.
  • Where local youth crime hot spots have occurred we have deployed youth workers and worked with local communities to find local solutions.”

2/3/18

From Inspector Steve Murfin

Inspector Steven Murfin, Islington PolicePublic Service, posted this on NextDoor regarding crime issues in the Archway area:
“This note is an update from Islington Council and the Metropolitan Police Service on progress made since the public meeting to discuss recent snatch thefts and violent robberies in Junction and St George’s wards of north Islington which was held on 29 November 2017 in Hocking Hall near Whittington Park, with well over a hundred members of the local community in attendance.

The main ringleader of the group identified as responsible for perpetrating this spate of crimes in the area was arrested shortly after the public meeting and issued with a Criminal Behaviour Order which included conditions excluding him from areas of previous offending and preventing him from associating with other individuals of concern. The individual then reoffended and received a further sentence, comprising a 12-month referral order, meaning he is subject to closer supervision. Unfortunately, he has recently been arrested again and a charging decision is awaited. Another of the main suspects involved in snatch thefts in the area was arrested outside Islington and remanded in custody. These arrests have delivered some reductions in crime in the area.

A community weapon sweep took place in Whittington Park on Sunday 11 February 2018 which was led by police and attended by local residents, ward councillors, the council’s community safety team and Parkguard, the council’s contractor who works alongside the council in addressing anti-social behavior (ASB). No weapons were recovered. Weapon sweeps are routinely carried out in both Whittington Park and Tufnell Park by the police and Parkguard and we are looking to extend community involvement by inviting local residents and partners to participate more often. We hope to start this in Tufnell Park and will be confirming a date shortly.

We held an inaugural Neighbourhood Watch meeting in Yerbury Road in February 2018 for Junction ward and St George’s ward residents. There was a good level of interest – around thirty local residents attended and two of them volunteered as coordinators for the Neighbourhood Watch. The police will be supporting the development of Neighbourhood Watch and are promoting it across the borough.

The MPS have introduced significant additional resources into the area through a new specialist Met-wide initiative called Operation Gondala, and the Met’s Territorial Support Group have been patrolling the area in addition to the local policing teams.

Wide-ranging enforcement tactics are being used against individual perpetrators where appropriate. This includes exploring housing, tax, benefits and other angles in an attempt to disrupt the activity of those involved.

We are employing short-lived Dispersal Zones in the area, which local officers can enforce in an attempt to prevent crime and ASB.

The council’s Licensing Team are speaking to Starbucks and McDonald’s where some members of the group in question are congregating.

The council’s Head of Youth and Community Services met with Head teacher of Acland Burghley School and offered support to the school in terms of relevant specialist services. The school have taken up the offer and are reporting fewer issues. The Safer Schools police officers are continuing to work with all schools linked to the area to promote safety awareness to pupils.

The council’s Community Safety Team have been monitoring the action plan put in place for the area. New perpetrators may now be involved and they are being investigated.

Junction Ward is featuring as the main hotspot for offending, concentrated around Archway tube station. The local police team have been focusing on crime prevention work in the area, including street briefings for the public and local businesses. A mobile phone marking event was carried out on 17 January 2018 and a dot-matrix board has been installed temporarily at Archway to encourage people to be extra cautious with their possessions. This has caused mixed reviews and we are looking at other ways to reduce crime.

Incidents and anti-social gatherings in Whittington Park have reduced. A meeting to re-establish the Friends of Whittington Park took place on 6 February 2018. The council’s Greenspace Team are holding an event in Whittington Park on 14 April 2018 to launch Islington in Bloom and the Friends group have been invited to use this event to promote themselves and gather further interest.

Details of the quarterly police ward panel meetings for Junction and St George’s wards were circulated following the public meeting on 29 November 2017 and local residents are encouraged to come along to them. Please continue to report crimes by calling 999 in cases of emergency or 101 for non-emergencies.

The local Neighbourhood Police Teams in Junction and St George’s wards can be contacted respectively at: ni-junctionward@met.police.uk and ni-st.georgeward@met.police.uk

The council’s antisocial behaviour team can be contacted via the ASB line on 020 7527 7272 or at www.islington.gov.uk/policing-safety/report/antisocial

Reports can also be made to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or at https://crimestoppers-uk.org

I accept that this is not going to reassure everyone but please be aware that we are doing what we can to make this area safer.

Islington youth crime prevention services and interventions

Work in schools
- We have increased our partnership with schools to ensure we are reaching vulnerable young people in schools and are working with siblings to prevent further escalation of risks and needs.
- The new Youth Violence Prevention Toolkit for use in schools was shared with every school (primary and secondary) in the borough in December 2017. This Spring we are meeting with the designated safeguarding lead in every school to discuss issues or concerns around youth violence and to offer support and information about our Open for All, targeted and specialist youth services.
- A named Safer School Police Officer is provided for the twelve secondary schools in the borough and one police officer is provided for colleges. In addition, there are four police officers for universities and four dedicated police officers covering 46 primary schools. Safer Schools Police Officers give presentations to students on topics such as drugs, knife crime, cyber bullying, online safety, CSE (child sexual exploitation), and mobile phone theft, and also help to staff school gates at the end of each school day to reassure students as they leave the premises.
- The Ben Kinsella Trust, the St Giles Trust SOS Plus Programme and Victim Support are working with Islington schools to provide presentations to pupils on topics including knife crime prevention and keeping safe.
Open for All youth work offer
- Islington has increased and widened its youth offer so that it is as accessible to all and extended the weekend and adventure play offer, leading to increased participation.
- All children and young people aged 6 and upwards (parents in the case of younger children) identified as being vulnerable due to the offending of a family member will be personally contacted with a curated offer of Open for All adventure play or youth services aligned to their geographical location and, where information is available, their interests.

Siblings of prolific young offenders
- Siblings will be identified through the enhanced tracking and monitoring of our most prolific offenders currently open to Targeted Youth Support (TYS), Youth Offending Service (YOS) and the Integrated Gangs Team (IGT) and offered targeted interventions and support at the earliest opportunity. YOS plans will include younger siblings at risk and plans for younger siblings incorporated as part of the Asset Plus assessment for the YOS cohort and the siblings will be prioritised for mentoring schemes and key working through Chance UK and Safer London.

Mentoring young people at risk
- Chance UK: age 5 – 11 years
Provide mentoring for 50 Islington children per year who are aged 5-11 and have behavioural difficulties. The children are engaged in a one year mentoring programme, and are placed with volunteer adult mentors, who meet with them weekly for 2-4 hours and offer a solution-focused, goal-oriented programme to improve behaviour and raise self-esteem.
- Safer London: age 11 – 17 years
Provide mentoring to 30+ young people who have been identified as being at risk of involvement in gangs / group offending and/or involved in carrying out personal robbery/snatch offences. The service approach is focused on engaging in positive activities, developing life skills and sustaining engagement in education and training.

St Giles Trust key working
- One-to-one intensive support for 60+ 10-18 year olds per year, delivered by workers from St Giles Trust who utilise their experiences as a way of connecting with young people both on the fringes of and already entrenched in gang activity and offending.

Mandatory offer YOS to TYS
- A new exit plan process will ensure that we maximise the offer for young people and their families to access appropriate support beyond their statutory involvement with the YOS in order to help prevent further reoffending and improve their outcomes. In order to improve the take-up of a step-down offer we are introducing this at a much earlier stage - at least three months prior to the end of an order. This mandatory offer will include access to a TYS worker, and iWork/employment coach, and other voluntary agencies and services to ensure that young people receive support to engage in education, employment, and on housing and health and wellbeing issues.

Integrated Gangs Team
- The Integrated Gangs Team (IGT) works with gang-affected young people aged 10 – 24 involving the police, children’s services, youth and community services, youth offending and probation services, the NHS, and specialist voluntary agencies who are co-located to provide a joined-up and intelligence-led response to gangs and youth violence in Islington. The service is under-pinned by a robust safeguarding approach as well as the use of enforcement where required, facilitated by the co-location with the Islington Police Gangs unit, and the use of a wide range of statutory and civil powers, including tenancy action, where gang members continue to offend and pose a risk to the public.
- The IGT is rolling out a new Prevention Offer to respond to the need to intervene earlier and with a younger age range of children and young people (ages 10-24) who are identified as on the cusp of serious gang violence. The IGT is extending its existing offer of individual work, group work and consultancy to this broader range of children and young people, including to the siblings of those involved in gangs.

Intensive Supervision and Surveillance (ISS)
- The Council’s investment in two permanent ISS workers for the YOS is proving to be essential in reducing remands and custodial sentences for high-risk young people in the borough. ISS can be used as an alternative to custody for young people who are at risk of custody and provides 25 hours a week of intensive support for up to 6 months. The young people subject to such orders have to engage with positive activities in the community and significant efforts are made to get them engaged with Education, Training and Employment. Our top gangs nominal remained offence-free for a year whilst subject to ISS.

YOS pre-court pane:
- This multi-agency panel meets to decide the outcomes for Triage cases. It will soon be relaunched to capture instances where a young person’s case has been No Further Actioned (NFA). This will ensure that young people who meet this category are offered an offer of support that can, if the young person has difficulties, help them to overcome these and not enter the criminal justice system at a later date. A recent learning review of the top five most prolific offenders in the borough shows that most of them had earlier offences dropped and there was No Further Action.

9/3/18

Fraud

There is some information about scams on the Islington website and Action Fraud.

There are many examples of fraud currently, many of them taking place online and through 'phishing' emails. Action Fraud is the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cyber crime where you should report fraud if you have been scammed, defrauded or experienced cyber crime. See their website for more info and their page on phishing emails.

Bogus Callers

Bogus callers knocking on residents’ doors seems to be a common occurrence in the Whitehall Park area. It is usually someone claiming to be from a charity, such as Action for Blind People. They often say that they are not there to raise money but just to talk about the charity, though when asked for leaflets or information about the charity are unable to give any. One particularly persistent caller, a well-dressed and well-spoken woman, claims to be participating in a charity run for cancer and asks for sponsorship. Asked for credentials or a website she claims that it’s so last-minute it’s not up and running yet, and to go to the Cancer Research website. Of course, when you do there is no mention of her or her sponsored run. When she tried to get money from me she gave her address as a house in Gladsmuir Road, which i knew to be owned by one of our members. When I challenged her on this she became quite indignant, storming off saying she’d never been more insulted. I feel it’s something she might have to get used to. If I’d had my wits about me I would have got a photo of her. Perhaps other residents could be on the lookout and snap one, though I know of several locals who have fallen for her wiles.

Bogus Caller
You can download the Met’s flyer on bogus callers here and Citizen’s Advice have useful tips here (or you can call them on 03454 040506).
2/3/15
There has been a spate of burglaries in the area by two men operating as window cleaners. The suspects are both white, 40-50 years old with London accents and one is possibly bald. They ask if they can fill their bucket and while one does this the other is stealing your valuables. Gas, electric and water companies all run password systems and have identification, but some confidence tricksters may also show a, usually poor quality, form of ID. If someone calls at the door and they are not expected or known, or seem suspicious, don’t let them in. Deal with callers by appointment or when a friend or relative can be present. Confidence tricksters often prey on elderly and more vulnerable residents, so be vigilant, ask for identification and information and call the police if necessary.
8/11/13
From Streetlife:

People selling their items on online platforms are falling victim to a new type of advance fee fraud. This involves a fraudster, posing as a buyer, sending an email to the seller (victim), agreeing to the full asking price of the item. They state that they are unable to collect the item themselves and will arrange for a courier to pick it up instead.

The fraudster then sends a fake payment confirmation email from a different email address, one which falsely purports to be from a payment platform. In the course of the email exchange, the seller/victim is requested to pay the courier fee. Once the payment is made the contact is broken, the item is not picked up and the money paid for the ‘courier’ is gone.

Advice from Action Fraud is to be very careful about any 'buyer' offering to purchase any item for sale online sight unseen and suggesting a courier collection.
12/8/16

Crime Prevention

The Metropolitan Police has comprehensive advice on crime prevention, including home and personal safety, fraud, bogus callers and vehicle safety on their website. There is also information on Islington’s website, including community safety, crime, policing and newsletters, on their Policing and Safety page.
If you are a victim of crime, call the police on 999 or the non-emergency number 101. Where you or someone you know has been the victim of a scam, you can report it on Action Fraud. Charities such as The Silver Line run confidential chat lines that provide advice to older people affected by scams.
HOME 
Lighting
Low-density but constant lighting at the front and rear of premises makes a burglar more likely to be seen and therefore less likely to commit an offence.

Gardens
Keep foliage at the front low to increase surveillance opportunities. Increase the height of rear garden walls and fences using trellising or thorny planting. Lock tools away and lock ladders down.

Front Doors
Good doors will usually have two locks. Always use the deadlock when going out. At night a deadlocking night latch can be used, remembering that this may be a fire route. A metal strip (known as London or Birmingham bars) on the inner part of the frame can be used to strengthen the wood around the locks.

Back Doors
Locking bolts to the top and bottom of the door will significantly enhance security.

Patio Doors
Fit suitable locks and anti-lift devices. For double-glazed units refer to the installer or manufacturer.

Windows
Fit two locks to each ground floor window and each accessible one.

Property Marking
Visible property marking may deter the thief from taking a particular item and allows Police to return recovered valuables. Use an etching tool or permanent marker. The Police have been demonstrating the use of SmartWater, an ultra violet solution that has proved quite effective.
VEHICLES 
  • Avoid parking in dimly lit and obscured areas where possible. If you can, park near street lighting and places that are open and easily seen.
  • Remove all valuables from your car. This includes any coats or jackets, GPS devices (including the bracket where possible), stereos and CD players, iPods and associated in-car items, small change, and any other items, even those with little worth.
  • Empty your glove box and leave it open to show nothing is kept inside.
  • Secure your vehicle with anti-theft devices and alarms if fitted, ensure these are turned on and working whenever you leave your vehicle unattended.
  • Catalytic Converters seem to be a new must-have for car thieves.
BOGUS EMAILS 
Bogus emails come in many forms. Below are a few examples.

1. The Begging Letter


These usually purport to come from someone you know or from a mailing list you operate. The ‘From’ email address will be the real one you have for that person; the ‘Reply To’ address similar but different. The ‘To’ field will usually say ‘undisclosed recipients:;’ as it’s been sent to many addresses apart from yours. The text of the email usually decribed a situation in which your “friend” is in dire straights and in need of money. An example, one of the many that WHPARA receives, is below:

Stacks Image 10892
Personal details have been obscured. The ‘From’ field and the signature line both contain correct details for the purported sender.
There’s little point doing anything other than delete the email, as it’s probably been bounced around various addresses and servers before it reaches you. Or you could forward it to the police in case they can do anything about it. Never reply to an email of this sort, or open any attachment.
24/4/14
SMART PHONES 
Islington Police are warning the community to take care when using smart phones in public as part of a London-wide awareness campaign this January. During the post-holiday season, which sees many people sporting new high-value goods, such as phones, electronic tablets, media players and jewellery, the MPS is advising owners across London to take care when and where they take them out.

While operational activity to tackle street robbery continues, including increased patrols in hotspot areas and pro-active investigations to arrest those responsible, the MPS is asking Londoners to take some steps to help themselves.

Detective Sergeant Sean Tuckey, said: “Islington Police officers take street robbery very seriously and we are working hard to catch offenders. However, the public can minimise the chance of it happening by taking some basic measures. When you are out, where possible try to keep any valuables secure. The majority of items which are stolen during robberies in Islington are smart phones and electronic tablets like iPads. Criminals simply see these items as cash.
“Many robberies happen when people check their phones or use applications just after leaving train stations, or when they are going about their business and may be distracted. Adults who have consumed alcohol and have less awareness of their surroundings are also more vulnerable. We're also aware that young people are targeted, usually by other young people.

“We are not asking the public not to use their phones or media players in public - we are just advising them to be vigilant about where and when they use them”.
There is a new approach to local policing, the New Policing Model, that was introduced in Islington and across the Metropolitan Police Service in Spring 2013. You can download the document here.
For more information and crime prevention advice visit www.met.police.uk/crimeprevention.