Eastbrook and Rush Green

With incidents of violent crime on Eastbrook and Rush Green among the borough’s lowest, the team have continued to make efforts to further improve the ward’s safety. Open space patrols have been increased, partly in line with the team’s priority focusing on ASB in Central Park, with the Eastbrookend Country Park and Nature Reserve, along with Fels Field and Footpath 18, receiving additional coverage.

The Eastbrookend Country Park and Central Park will be among the ward's green spaces covered more extensively over the next 3 months as a newly-elected priority set during June’s Ward Panel Meeting (WPM). With summer set to attract an increase in visitors, the team will look to limit opportunities for anti-social behaviour (ASB) and maintain a high level of safety, incorporating Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), across Eastbrook and Rush Green’s open spaces. The conclusion of March’s WPM saw heightened coverage around Central Park to monitor two-wheeled vehicle ASB and this will continue under the new widened commitment. Recent months have also seen a number of foot patrols around the country park, with one taking in over 2.4 miles of the 84-hectare site.

Vehicle-related crime, namely theft from and theft of vehicle, will be more thoroughly addressed over the summer months, building on previous campaigns to drive down crime. Strategies for combating vehicle theft will include visiting residents hyperlocal to incidents and those who own same-type vehicles to those being targeted. A similar approach was taken between 2019-2021, which saw 478 visits across the ward, with 87 Ford Fiesta, 46 BMW and 20 Range Rover owners among those provided advice. A methodical measure will also be used to remove opportunities for theft from vehicle offences, including a ‘car-by-car’ approach to identify items of potential value left on display. A day in April this year saw 246 vehicles checked, while July 2020 recorded 470 checks in a single day, including 316 on Parish Fields. On the latter occasion, 11 items of potential value were noted and brought to the attention of the owners.