Welcome to Safer Havering - a new newsletter to keep you up to date on the latest news, actions and advice happening in your community to keep you safe.
You are receiving this as you previously expressed an interest in community safety and enforcement news from Havering Council. If you do not want to receive further newsletters, please feel free to unsubscribe.
In this newsletter, you will be able to learn about the latest actions in the fight against crime, get advice on how to keep yourself safe, plus find out how we are tackling anti-social behaviour in your community. We'll also tell you how you can report crimes and issues that affect you.
This is the new official newsletter for The Havering Community Safety Partnership. The partnership is a statutory body established under the Crime & Disorder Act 1998 and the Police Reform Act 2002. It's there to help keep the borough a safer place to live, work and visit by reducing crime and disorder.
It is made up of senior representatives from Havering Council, the Metropolitan Police and London Fire Brigade, plus probation and health services.
Key priorities for the partnership include:
- Reducing violence
- Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG)
- Reducing re-offending
- Tackling serious youth crime and criminal exploitation
- Reducing crime and Anti-Social Behaviour in our town centres and other identified vulnerable neighbourhoods
- Improving feelings of safety and public confidence
The partnership meets regularly and works under an agreed three-year plan (2022-2025).
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 The Havering Joint Taskforce - also known as Section 92 officers or S92s - are five police officers funded by Havering Council to fight crime across the borough.The taskforce has had great success again in March, fighting issues that matter to residents, such as burglary, robbery and theft of motor vehicles. The small team are extremely dedicated and determined to bring those who commit crime to justice. You can keep up with the S92s on Twitter.
More than 200 arrests have been made and over £1m worth of drugs were seized during a week-long crackdown at the end of February on county lines gangs.
Police officers from the Havering Joint Taskforce, who are funded by Havering Council, led the way along with officers from neighbouring boroughs Barking & Dagenham and Redbridge recently, on stopping criminals in their tracks. They recovered stolen vehicles, made arrests for possession of drugs and pursued drivers who failed to stop, resulting in a number of arrests for multiple driving offences.
The operation saw the different boroughs working in partnership, sharing intelligence and taking action to stop those targeting vulnerable adults and young children, who are groomed or threatened into being “runners to deliver drugs.
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A landlord has been ordered to pay over £3,000 in fines and costs for operating an unsafe HMO (Houses in multiple occupation) following enforcement action by Havering Council.
The Council’s private sector landlord licensing officers visited the premises in September 2021, after receiving complaints by a member of the public about the property.
Landlord John Abraka pleaded guilty at Romford Magistrates Court on Tuesday 4 April, to charges for the property in Myrtle Road, Romford, which included:
- Failing to license the property as an HMO
- Failing to provide documents requested by the local authority
- Numerous breaches of the HMO Management Regulations.
Mr Abraka was fined for the offences and ordered to pay court costs and a victim surcharge.
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Officers from the police East Area Command working jointly with the Council's Community Safety and Enforcement teams, were granted a closure order at Romford Magistrates Court rcently, for a property at Blenheim Court, Hornchurch, due to reports of drug related anti-social behaviour.
The order was executed that same day with the occupants evicted from the property which will remain closed for three months.
Local officers are continuing to patrol the area to maintain a visible police presence and to provide reassurance to local residents.
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The OWL (Online Watch Link) makes it easier for residents, businesses and communities across the borough to keep up to speed with crimes and anti-social behaviour in their areas, report it, and hear directly about the action being taken.
It can be downloaded for free and a notification is received as soon as a new alert is sent by local police officers or council community safety officers.
All the information is on a secure platform and the aim is to improve the sharing of such information between the Police, Council and safer neighbourhood groups.
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Havering Women’s Aid (HWA) work closely with the Council’s community safety team to offer support, advice and refuge to those of any gender suffering from the effects of domestic violence.
It provides a range of services to meet the needs of Havering residents, from practical and emotional support to putting them in touch with other organisations to help them live their lives as safely as possible.
This includes specialist parenting support for those with ex-partners that have abusive behaviours, those that are experiencing domestic violence in the home, in their relationships and other forms of violence.
The services include confidential advice for men, young girls and women aged 13-25, plus anyone regardless of their gender and sexuality.
If you are experiencing domestic violence or have concerns that someone you know might be, get in touch.
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Here are some useful ways to keep you and your property safe on the street.
Look confident
You are less likely to be targeted if you look confident. Move with purpose and try to be aware of your surroundings.
Know where you’re going
Plan your route and think about what to take with you, especially if you’re going somewhere you haven’t been before. Keep to busy, well-lit streets, walkways and paths which are more likely to be covered by CCTV. Only take licensed taxis or minicabs booked by phone or a mobile phone app.
Hide it
Keep your mobile phone and valuables out of sight. If you’re using your phone it’s more likely to be snatched from your hand as you’re not paying attention to your surroundings, so look around you.
And never leave a mobile, any other device, wallet or purse on the table of an outdoor café, pub or restaurant. Same goes for any jewellery you might be wearing – keep it covered when walking down the street.
Finally – and this is so important to remember – if you’re threatened with violence, don’t risk your personal safety. Property can be replaced, you can’t.
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The Council’s Trading Standards team is continuing to investigate following a recent operation which saw around £35,000 worth of counterfeit tobacco, cigarettes and vapes seized in Romford.
A Romford business was raided by police alongside the Council officers last month.
During the operation they found the illegal products hidden in magnetically sealed boxes and quickly removed them.
Enquiries continue in relation to the products that were seized.
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Anti-social behaviour is carried out by a small minority of people but it can have a damaging impact on residents, communities, local businesses and visitors to our borough.
For residents, it might not always be clear what anti-social behaviour is and where they should look to report it.
Anti-social behaviour is defined as:
- Conduct that has caused, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to any person
- Conduct capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to a person in relation to that persons occupation of residential premises, or
- Conduct capable of causing housing-related nuisance or annoyance to any person
The Havering Community Safety Partnership (HCSP) works to tackle such issues so it can help make communities feel safer.
The HCSP can intervene where anti-social behaviour is identified and help to address it. Further action is then taken by the relevant organisation, such as the police, in order to resolve situations.
Information is shared across the HCSP to find the causes of the issues, work at trying to prevent problems and agree a solution or ways in which the threat of anti-social behaviour can be reduced.
Where can you report it?
You can report any incidents of anti-social behaviour by calling 101 or online via the Met Police or Crimestoppers.
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Havering Council is supporting an initiative that will prevent the wearing of ski masks, hoods and helmets that cover someone’s face in all four shopping centres in Romford.
It is an action being led by the Romford BID in partnership with the police, the Council’s enforcement team and the four shopping malls, The Liberty, The Brewery, The Mercury and Romford Shopping Hall.
The aim is to help reduce the fear of anti-social behaviour in the area that has been reported by residents, visitors and shop staff.
The ban will help to protect staff working in shops from a small minority who try to hide unacceptable behaviour behind hoods, ski masks and motorcycle helmets over their faces.
They want to make people feel safer in and around the town centre and to encourage them to shop and enjoy the facilities.
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There are a number of ways in which you can help protect your car against theft.
Knowing a few tricks and tips may prevent you and your vehicle being targeted.
General top tips
- Store car ownership information at home, not in your car
- Secure number plates with anti-theft screws available from car accessory stores
- Keep your car keys out of sight in your home
- When parking in a car park, look for ‘Park Mark” signage indicating the car park meets recognised security levels
- Fit locking, anti-tamper wheel nuts to secure alloy wheels
- Don’t leave valuable items in or outside of your vehicle. Anything left on roof-racks, tailgate racks, holiday top boxes or in tool chests can be easily stolen.The use of cable locks, padlocks and self-locking tools chests can help to make the vehicle more secure.
Top tips to avoid keyless theft
- Keeping keys far away from doors and windows. This will minimise the chances a thief will be able to find and amplify the key’s signal and is general good practice.
- Consider purchasing a Faraday pouch to keep your car key in. These pouches contain signal-blocking materials that stop your key transmitting its code, preventing crooks from being able to detect and amplify the signal. Check your manual or speak to your dealer to find out if your key can be switched off
- Consider using a steering wheel lock, a driveway parking post, or even a wheel clamp.
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An investigation by Havering Council’s Trading Standards team has led to the successful prosecution of two men who targeted elderly Havering residents.
Working with the Essex Police Economic Crime Team, the Trading Standards team collected evidence for the Havering residents that were targeted that proved Mr William Eastwood, 31, of Chelmsford Road, Wickford, and Mr Jack Harbour, 31, of Wellstye Green, Basildon, had fleeced victims out of tens of thousands of pounds.
There were four victims - three from Havering and one from Essex.
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