Furzedown

Robbery
Furzedown encompasses Graveney School, Furzedown Recreation Ground and Tooting Bec Athletic Track, where we see a rise in Robbery offences in these locations compared to the rest of the ward. Furzedown borders both Mitcham and Streatham so we see that that these offences are commonly enabled by suspects travelling on mopeds from outside of the ward boundaries.

We police by being intelligence and data led, which shows us that the number of juveniles travelling to and from school have become victims of this crime, during after school hours and throughout the weekend. Robbery offences are also more prevalent in the summer months, which is why it is part of our Summer 2025 crime plan to tackle this problem. We have a Dedicated Ward Officer- Children and Young Person specialist who is an officer that specialises with youth crime and they have a good relationship with Graveney School to provide support for vulnerable victims and to make sure the students are being given crime prevention advice. As part of Operation Nomad we also have several police cameras in the area which have been in place for over a year, these allow us to easily view footage and provide quick time evidence for any offences that have been reported to the police, this may include suspect descriptions such a being able to view the VRM of a moped if it has been used to enable the crime. We will measure our success by analysing data to determine if there has been a reduction in Robbery offences.

Theft from Motor Vehicle
During our ward panel meeting residents have raised concerns that there have been a number of theft from motor vehicles, these commonly occur during the night but do also happen during daylight hours. Suspects have been seen walking down the road trying door handles, which is an offence of Motor Vehicle Interference if it is with the intent to steal the vehicle or something inside it. We also have reports of windows being smashed to steal the contents inside the vehicle. These offences are not specific to any part of the ward, but they have been mostly reported on residential streets between Mitcham Lane and Rectory Lane.

This is a priority for the residents and as part of our Neighbourhood guarantee we are making it our priority to tackle crimes that are impacting the residents. We are in direct contact with residents, to receive fast time intelligence when it is known that suspects are out and committing these offences. This allows us to better focus our plain clothed operations on streets that are being targeted, so our patrol areas may change. We have previously looked at the data to have a better understanding of what time these offences are being committed and changed our shifts so that we are available to conduct proactive patrols during these hours. We will be flexible and continue to see if this is needed to reduce the crime. If anybody recognises an individual committing this offence then please remember to send your information to crime stoppers by using their website as it may help us to identify suspects.

Anti-social Behaviour
Anti-Social Behaviour can encompass a number of issues, this is one of our priorities due to the number of reports that have been raised to us by residents. These include Furzedown Recreation ground where we have received reports of youths smoking cannabis and stolen mopeds being ridden across the ground. Another current issue is mopeds and cyclists riding on the paved area where Eardley Road meets Blegborough Road, causing a dangers to pedestrians and also drug related offences in Mosyer Court and Fayland Avenue.

Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour requires ongoing engagement from the team to reduce the issues and keep them from reoccurring so that it has a minimal impact on the community. We are committed to keeping up to date with any intelligence surrounding drug dealing in the ward, we have used the intelligence to execute drug warrants to disrupt drug dealers and reduce drug use in the area. When dealing the with the reported ASB of mopeds being ridden off road in the Recreation Ground and on Eardley Road we have utilised our powers under the Road Traffic Act as well as using other policing powers when appropriate, such as issuing ASB warnings, Community Protection Warnings and Community Protection Notices, these can be issued to specific individuals who have been reported to us. Throughout this we have been in contact with the council around their plans to implement extra measures to block the pavement on Eardly road to ensure pedestrian safety and we plan to conduct a traffic operation to coincide with the changes that are taking place to deter road users from using the pavement.