Neighbourhood Police Officer Moving On
Sergeant Pete Nicholson saying goodbye after nearly five years
A neighbourhood police officer who has worked in the area for nearly five years will be saying goodbye to Fulham next month.
Sergeant Pete Nicholson who is part of the Parsons Green & Walham Ward Safer Neighbourhoods team said, "I have thoroughly enjoyed my time working on the ward and it is an area that I am now very fond of. I have got to know many of you and I would like to thank everyone for helping us drive crime down to record low levels. We as the police can only do so much to reduce crime and without the residents working with us we will achieve limited results. You live in a great part of London and one which is getting safer all the time."
In his last bulletin to residents of the ward he reminded people of the importance of sufficient home security. Police recommend that you fit a letterbox cowl, sash window security bolts and deadlocks on all external doors. Most burglary crimes on the ward are committed in two ways. They either force the bottom part of the sash window up, using the window ledge as leverage, or slip your front door locks by gaining access through your letterbox or using a piece of plastic to open doors that haven't been deadlocked (double locked.) Using/fitting the articles written in bold above will prevent this from happening.
He also warns about the street robbery the incidence of which has fallen in recent years in the Ward but remains a distressing crime. He recommends being aware who is around you at all times. If you are using a phone you are very vulnerable and often unaware of what is happening around you. Mobile phones have driven this type of crime up as you often have an item worth £500 on show in your hand, easy pickings for a criminal. You will also be a better target if you are very drunk and alone. Avoid walking across parks when they are very quiet at night. Over the past few years police have seen a number of street robberies in and around Eel Brook Common when people are alone or drunk late at night.
The crime that continues to frustrate Sgt. Nicholson the most is theft from motor vehicles which he says is avoidable in 90% of cases.
He says, "Many thefts from vehicles occur when a vehicle hasn't been secured properly, and the rest are when something valuable is on show or obviously inside a vehicle. If your vehicle is locked and has nothing of value on show, the chances of it being broken into are remote.
"If a criminal has seen you put something of value in the boot, laptops and golf clubs for example, the chances are someone will break into it.
"My experience over the past 4 years on this ward is that if you leave something of value on show, it will be broken into within two nights. If you leave your vehicle unlocked and not alarmed I am fairly confident that it will be opened and searched within three nights. Criminals who steal from vehicles are usually drug addicts. They don't have sophisticated devices to get into your vehicle like some organised criminals who are looking to steal high value cars, they scour the streets looking for anything of value and the insides of cars often give the richest and easiest pickings. "
This type of crime was the most prevalent in the Ward over the last month with 12 cases compared to 6 burglaries and two robberies. In neighbouring Sands End Ward there were 8 cases of theft from a motor vehicle, two burglaries and no robberies.
You can probably see Sgt. Nicholson before he goes at one of the next two street surgeries in the ward. The first one is on
17th September at Harris and Hoole Coffee, near Imperial Wharf Station, Townmead Road, SW6, between 4pm and 5pm and the second on 19th September 2014 at Teinda Café, 197 New Kings Road, SW6 between 3pm and 4pm.
August 28, 2014