Following shed being broken into, ploy-tunnels being set alight & slashed and acts of random vandalism at Spencer Road Allotment in 2016, members of the Allotment committee met with PC Joe Keogh I 119 ZT from the Sutton Police Station Wandle Valley Safer Neighbourhood Team, who look after the area the allotment is in
This visit was a direct result of reporting the break-ins and the CCTV footage obtained of two individuals who were observed jumping over the fence, entering the allotment and on seeing that they were being observed climbed back out using a tree up against the fence, and scarpered on a motorcycle, whos number plate was recorded.
This visit was a direct result of reporting the break-ins and the CCTV footage obtained of two individuals who were observed jumping over the fence, entering the allotment and on seeing that they were being observed climbed back out using a tree up against the fence, and scarpered on a motorcycle, whos number plate was recorded.
It transpired that "The two males were not recognised locally by officers. Unfortunately the VRM provided came back to a Toyota Yaris, which is not the vehicle in the CCTV"
The Police are also no longer permitted to chase offenders on motorcycles especially if they are not wearing a helmet, indeed some take their helmets off because of the ruling see here Nov 2018 this stupid rule has been altered and now they can not only chase but are allowed to knock them off the bike
Following our meeting PC Joe Keogh was kind enough to send an email of guidance notes for me to share with the plot holders on how we should report any future break-ins as the route we had been previously been informed to take by the council to contact the Parks Police has been altered.
Hi Alan, in response to our conversation today, please find the following guidance when reporting incidents to police.
- If an offence IS BEING committed on your allotment, please report it on 999.
- If an offence HAS BEEN committed on your allotment, please report it on 101.
- All offences should be reported as soon as possible. This maximises the window for evidence to be gained.
- Any items which have been interfered with should remain untouched. Clean smooth/shiny surfaces are the best to obtain fingerprints from. Please keep these items to one side and preserve if possible by covering the item.
There are no right or wrong answers when it comes to security, it's all personal preference and what works for one person or area may not necessarily work for another. But I would say the more measures that are put in place the better. I have attached some official guidance for you to disseminate to other plot holders.
It may be worth floating the idea among your members of installing some type of deterrent. CCTV cameras or Motion Censor lights are great and can be picked up at a decent price on Amazon / Ebay. If everyone clumped together, the cheaper it will be.
For obvious reasons, do not install these at low level/on sheds as they can be easily removed.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions.
Kind Regards,
PC Joe Keogh I 119 ZT Sutton Police Station | Wandle Valley Safer Neighbourhood Team
Obviously Site Reps & Allotment committees would normally request that if you are a target of a break-in that after phoning 101 to arrange for an officer to visit and take details, your second telephone call should be to the site rep or a committee member, so that an alert can be sent to all plot holders who have provided their email addresses and contact details to the site rep or committee.
As a direct result of these blighters visiting on a number of occasions over a couple of weeks, we set up a Facebook Group just for plot holders on the Spencer Road Allotment site so that problem and notifications re manure and woodchip deliveries can be shared. It's also resulted in the sharing of plants, seeds and excess produce. I would strongly recommend that Site Reps consider the formation off Allotment Specific Facebook groups if they don't already have one.
Alan Wooldridge - Mill Green Site Rep & Spencer Road Committee Member.
As a direct result of these blighters visiting on a number of occasions over a couple of weeks, we set up a Facebook Group just for plot holders on the Spencer Road Allotment site so that problem and notifications re manure and woodchip deliveries can be shared. It's also resulted in the sharing of plants, seeds and excess produce. I would strongly recommend that Site Reps consider the formation off Allotment Specific Facebook groups if they don't already have one.
Alan Wooldridge - Mill Green Site Rep & Spencer Road Committee Member.
