East London News A Force for the community…
CRIME RELATED to mobile phones was the target of a national police operation throughout September. In Tower Hamlets, police joined forces with Tower Hamlets Council’s “Regulatory Service” team to bring local results.
As part of the partnership working, neighbourhood police teams conducted “intelligence-led high visibility patrols” and “proactive plain clothes patrols”, as well as work to identify outstanding suspects. There were also specific operations targeting phone-snatching and illegal e-bikes, as well as joint visits to shops that bought or sold second-hand phones.
As a result of the work:
●29 shops were visited
●291 phones had their IMEI number checked, which can help identify if a phone is stolen or not
●one stolen phone was recovered
●three phones were seized for investigation
●three arrests were made
●60 wraps of class A were recovered; one male was arrested and charged with a drugs supply offence
●five laptops stolen during a school burglary were recovered
●over £6,000 worth of counterfeit goods, including mobile phone cases and accessories, children’s backpacks and keyrings, unsafe international travel adapters and illicit tobacco were seized
●a quantity of illicit cigarettes were seized
●a large amount of drugs paraphernalia were seized and investigation started into the shop owner
●durng the e-bikes operation, five bikes and one scooter were seized, five riders prosecuted and one person arrested
●eight suspects who were previously unknown from already reported offences were identified
Cllr Kabir Ahmed
Cllr Kabir Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Public Protection and Integrated Enforcement (another job title from the Ministry of Silly Names), welcomed the outcome of the joint work. “We work in partnership with police to ensure that those committing crimes in our borough are brought to justice,” he said. “Thank you to the Met Police and the council’s teams for these excellent results.”
The Government has criticised Tower Hamlets Council for weak “partnership working” in the past, but this kind of joint working shows that there is a useful partnership on the ground. This is a good start, and residents will be looking forward to more good news about the fight against crime.
●Read more about it:
How CCTV helps trace dangerous drivers
How Tower Hamlets Council keeps community safe
