During the evening and into the night of Saturday 6th August 2011 public disorder and criminal damage to residential and business premises ensued within the London borough of Haringey. This has been widely reported in the media both at local, regional and national level.
On Sunday 7th August 2011 a second night of disorder resulted in further criminal damage to shops, residential buildings and vehicles being badly damaged in the London boroughs of Enfield, Waltham Forest and Lambeth.
The Metropolitan Police Service has dealt with several incidents of ‘copycat criminal activity’ across London which has resulted in over 100 arrests for criminal offences. The MPS is aware of the impact this is having on the business community and is making every effort to combat further criminal activity by increasing the levels of high visibility patrols across London.
At this time criminal activity is taking place across a number of areas. There is no intelligence of specific targeting of identified business premises.
The Operation Withern team is continuing their investigation to identify those people responsible for the violence, disorder and crime we have seen to ensure that they are brought to justice.
You may notice an increase in the number of police officers in your area and this should not be cause for alarm.
You may wish to take the following precautionary measures.
1. Where possible retail premises should be suitably staffed with security guards
2. Ensure staff report any suspicious activity to security and/or police
3. Consider regular checks of the building and surrounding area
4. Identify areas that are vulnerable to forced entry
5. Make sure all service doors are kept locked and secure when not in use
6. Ensure your CCTV system fully operational
7. In case of an emergency is there a record of the names of keyholders who can be contacted
8. Consider removing high value goods from display windows overnight
9. Consider keeping as little cash as possible on the premises
10. Ensure that your premises are secure and if fitted your alarm systems are fully operational
11. In the event of a non emergency, call the police on non emergency number 101
10. In the event of an emergency, call the emergency number 999
11. If you have any information you wish to provide to police anonymously you can contact the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.
Operation Withern is investigating the disorder and violence in parts of London over the weekend. An incident room has been set up. Anyone with information should call the major investigation team on 020 8345 4142.
The MPS has extra resources on duty across the capital. We are carefully monitoring any intelligence and ensuring we have our resources in the right places to support the ongoing policing plan. We will continue to respond to the needs of London’s communities and deal with any incidents of criminality.
You may also wish to consider subscribing to the official police messaging system ‘Neighbourhood Link’. To subscribe to this service please visit: www.neighbourhoodlink.met.police.uk
