"Hello everyone,
The Orpington Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) have been busy over recent months. Officers are still pulled away from the ward more often than we would like, and the disorder seen across the country increased the number of abstractions. However, we have still made good progress.
We began the summer by identifying a group of young males who have been involved in Antisocial Behaviour (ASB) across the town, as well as causing criminal damage to commercial and residential property on the high street with catapults, and vandalising floral displays brought in by the business community. From viewing CCTV captured by various businesses, the team were able to pick out known faces, attend the homes of the individuals, issue warnings and speak with their parents, or, in the case of repeat offenders, coordinate with Bromley Council’s ASB team to put in place Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (ABCs). If further offences are committed whilst an ABC is in place, full criminal prosecutions can follow.
We are also working closely with the St Mary Cray Safer Neighbourhood Team. As you might imagine, criminals do not confine themselves to a particular ward, and we often see the shop lifters who are targeting Nugent Retail Park committing offences on Orpington High Street. Together, we are linking multiple offences and charging suspects accordingly with several prolific offenders being charged in recent weeks. One particularly troublesome individual was kept on remand in prison awaiting a court date before receiving a fourteen-week prison sentence. In the current climate this is a testament to the team’s hard work. I look forward to providing you with further updates as we have cases going through the system as I write this.
We recognise the importance of a visible police presence offering reassurance and deterring would be offenders, but I have continued to deploy officers in plain clothes, too. By blending in, officers are able to gather valuable information, and by targeting specific areas, officers can catch criminals red-handed. These operations are producing results – with more catapults being recovered, as well as drugs, counterfeit goods, and stolen property.
A lot of the good work carried out by the team is intelligence led, and this means we can target the areas where we are needed most, so please do keep reporting crime.
In September, the SNT and Bromley Council arranged a Community Impact Day for the Orpington ward. These are multiple agency events at which representatives from Bromley Trading Standards, Environmental Health, Bromley Council’s ASB team, DVLA, London Fire Brigade, Clarion Housing, and other Met Police teams, come together to target particular areas of the borough.
Some officers manned a crime prevention information stand whilst others accompanied personnel from the various partner agencies as they conducted visits around the Orpington Ward.
Trading standards made seizures of vapes and tobacco that failed to meet regulatory standards. The DVLA seized several untaxed vehicles, some of which were potentially linked to crime. Clarion Housing carried out visits to the homes of those known to be committing ASB locally. Officers from London Fire Brigade were on hand to issue fire safety advice to shoppers and brought along a fire engine – ever popular with smaller children and a great way of engaging youngsters. The day was extremely successful and a great demonstration of the breadth of work carried out by the Met and partner agencies to improve Orpington.
Our library talks continue to be well attended, and we have now started ‘Walk & Talks’ in Priory Gardens. These are advertised on our twitter page and on the Met Police website. Just search for the Orpington team and click on the meeting and events tab.
As the nights draw in and the weather changes, we’re looking forward to seeing you at Light Up Orpington on Sunday November 17. Our team and other officers will be attending to help ensure the thousands of you who come to enjoy the event can do so safely.
Thanks for your ongoing support and all the best for the months ahead.
Luke"
This update was first published in The Orpington 1st Magazine Autumn 2024
