THEOs secure successful result in court

Three men have been found guilty of assault and threatening behaviour towards Tower Hamlets Enforcement Officers (THEOs). At two Magistrates’ Court hearings in April and May this year, two were found guilty of assault and threatening behaviour and the third admitted the charges. The hearings related to incidents that took place in September 2014 when THEOs were called to assist the Metropolitan Police on the Bancroft Estate near Globe Road, E1.

Tasked with gathering evidence from a group of men on the estate who were thought to have been involved in gangs and anti-social behaviour (ASB), some of the group turned on officers. One incident was extremely violent as the group confronted officers leading to two THEOs being assaulted.

The officers gathered evidence including witness statements and images from their body worn video cameras. The evidence was presented to the police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), who made the decision to charge three of the youths.

Six THEOs were called to give evidence in Stratford Magistrates Court in April against the two main perpetrators – Mohib-ul-Alam Akanjee, 24, and Ali Anwar, 23 – who pleaded “not guilty”. In what was a complex case, the defence robustly challenged the evidence submitted by THEOs. Despite their protestations, the Magistrate ruled the two men were guilty of the offences – they were remanded on bail and will be sentenced in due course.

In May a third man, Ridwan Al-Jabir, 20, appeared in court and, despite previously entering a “not guilty” plea to the charge of assault, he changed his plea and admitted his guilt. Al-Jabir was handed down a six month Attendance Centre Order, ordered to pay £165 costs and could be handed a Criminal Behaviour Order.

Head of Community Safety Enforcement at Tower Hamlets Council, Trevor Kennett, said: “This is another example of the excellent work that is regularly carried out by our THEOs. Officers work hard under considerable pressure in some extremely challenging environments. They have demonstrated a high level of integrity and resilience in getting these convictions.”