Wednesday 23 December 2015

Harold Wood Ward - End of Year Review 2015

Dear Resident,

I would like to take this opportunity to give you a brief end of year update from Harold Wood Police Team.

For those of you who follow me on Twitter (@MPSHaroldWood) most of this will be old news but, our year in brief. There is so much I have had to leave out but that is simply because the email could be too big to send!

From all of us at Harold Wood Police Team, I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a healthy and prosperous 2016

We look forward to doing it all over again next year!

Warmest Regards, Sgt Charlie Routley 

January - The year started off with the team’s great work being promoted across the borough on posters. Of the 429 less burglaries reported on the borough, Harold Wood saw a reduction of

almost 50!

February - A busy month saw us dealing with repeated criminal damage at the Long Term Conditions Centre in Harold Wood (damage costing over £10,000 in total).


During which, we located the gap in the fence being used by the suspects and sorted out a DIY fix! (The NHS have since installed a proper metal fence after an email from me highlighting the gap. 

Since this has happened we have had no further incidents reported)

In February I also ran our 2nd #MPSHaveringLive which is a live tweetathon of live 999/101 calls as they happen. 

This is to give you an insight into an average day for officers on our borough. If you haven’t seen any of the tweets then search the hashtag on Twitter (Next one planned for February time. Date TBC) The team also assisted in Op Cubo which targets uninsured drivers. 

During this Op we helped to seize 9 uninsured vehicles off the roads of Havering. We closed down a Cannabis Factory in Harold Hill, arresting the suspect in the process.



March - Started with a joint initiative with Havering Council and Trading Standards called “Protected Streets” which saw the team knock on every door in several roads on the ward and supply the residents with crime prevention advice and items such as Timer switches and Window Alarms. 

A further 8 vehicles were seized during another Op Cubo and we launched our Virtual Ward Panel surveys which allows residents a say in how we police Harold Wood

April - A notable rise in residents reporting discarded Nitrous Oxide canisters around Harold Wood began as the recreational use began to make national headlines. I’m glad to say that this issue appears to have stopped now. 


But the team increased patrols in our parks and open spaces. I ran the London Marathon in aid of Richard House Children's Hospice (Raising over £400 and proving that not all police officers live on a stable diet of Coffee and Donuts!) 

We also came to the aid of a stranded motorist near the A12 who had run out of fuel and assisted with a cross border operation in conjunction with Essex Police targeting criminals using vehicles and crossing the Met/Essex border (M25)

May - The team assisted with policing the general election. Several polling stations in Harold Wood and Harold Hill. 

We also helped with policing the WeRFestival which is held in Upminster while I was drafted in to police an EDL march in Walthamstow

June - A very busy June! The 1st of June was the day I officially became a Sergeant. 

Having “acted up” doing the role for a while. I put on another live tweetathon as #MPSHaveringLive returned. 

With myself and PCSO Steve Lee did our bit to help keep Harold Wood clean by cleaning up the children's play area in Painesbrook Park (which to this day is still graffiti free!) whilst Jade and Siobhan helped the Friends of Harold Wood and Painesbrook Parks with a litter pick.

Following concerns raised from Harold Court School we also continued out patrols outside for parents who park dangerously. 


Siobhan, Louise and Jade assisted with Trooping the Colour in London.

We used the power of Twitter to reunite a lost phone with its owner and I hosted several live showings of the BBC Documentary “The Met” during which I facilitated Q&A sessions

Finally in June we attended Harold Court Primary School Summer Fete during which the kids were able to try on some uniform, have their finger prints taken and I ended up being gunged!


July - July started with another Op Cubo

and 7 vehicles in seized for being driven without insurance. 


We helped an elderly resident who had been scammed out of thousands of pounds. 

Working closely with their family to get the correct support they needed. 

Another scam was doing the rounds which we also informed everyone about via Twitter and email. If it sounds too good to be true….. that’s because it most probably is! 

July ended with us attending the Star Wars Convention held at the Community Hall in Harold Hill. Arranged by a local resident (and ward panel member!) the event was held to raise money for some very worthy local causes. 

Craig tried his best to arrest the suspects but the force wasn’t with him on this occasion. But he did help to bring crime prevention advice to a galaxy far far away


August - We welcomed our new Dedicated
25 July 2015

Ward Officer (DWO) to the team. PC Anthony Kiddle is an award winning Wild Life Crimes officer and took over the mantle of DWO on a full time basis following my promotion to Sergeant. 

The team assisted in closing down a Cannabis factory in Hornchurch and to Police VJ day in London. Anthony hit the ground running by rescuing two stray horses and re homing them

September - The team had some brilliant results with arrests and offenders being charged and taken to court. 

The warm nights meant that we extended our patrols in parks and open spaces to address concerns about anti social behaviour as well as reducing burglaries being reported at dusk. We also began helping in Romford Town Centre on a 5 weekly basis. 

Our first shift down there was an eventful one with several revellers being dispersed under the anti social legislation (to avoid starting trouble) and a colleague was assaulted. Luckily he was ok

October -  During October the team conducted several search warrants during which large amounts of drugs and cash were found. 

Along with the suspects being arrested, Anthony seized and re homed this little guy! 

We welcomed two new members to the team who got stuck straight in with several arrests

The team took part in the inaugural “Mayors Charity Race” over Harold Wood Park where funds were being raised for two local charities and Louise brought in some rather unseasonal cakes! 


November - The team assisted St Peters Church with the Remembrance Sunday Parade along Gubbins Lane. We do this every year and it’s always an honour to be part of the day

November also saw us increase our Burglary patrols at key times along with delivering crime prevention via Twitter, Email, Leaflets and even by Periscope (a live streaming app where we recorded a patrol). 


Storm Barney caused a bit of havoc with trees being felled across the borough and our thoughts were with the friends and families of those effected in the Paris attacks 

December - Our efforts to reduce Burglary continued with further patrols, crime prevention advice and even a video on Vine showing how you can use Christmas lights to avoid becoming a victim of burglary. 

Another live tweetathon was done on the 16th and the bravery of my colleagues during the incident in Leytonstone left me in complete awe and admiration! 

4.15pm and it's dark, so leave a light on,
buy a timer maybe
We conducted a Drink Drive awareness morning operation at Harold Wood train station to highlight the dangers of driving the next morning when still over the limit. 

Tesco at Gallows Corner donated 100 timer switches to us which will be given to the most vulnerable residents in Harold Wood and Harold Hill



All that is left to say is that Harold Wood SNT wish you a very Merry Christmas and a healthy and prosperous 2016. 

We are already making plans for early next year to help keep Harold Wood one of the safest places to live in Havering!


All the best

PS Charlie Routley 26KD
Harold Wood Safer Neighbourhoods Team

02087212509

Sunday 6 December 2015

The next #MPSHaveringLive is on 16 December 2015

What would you like to see from Sgt Charlie Routley on Wednesday 16 December? 

Expect tweets, photos, videos all in as realtime as Sgt Charlie can make them.

Have an idea, tweet it using the hashtag or leave a comment below.

Many thanks..


Tuesday 10 November 2015

Sgt Charlie Routley Burglary Patrols in Harold Wood MPS

This was the first periscope from @MPSHaroldWood London Borough of Havering.

Watch at 00:25 secs when you see Sgt Charlie tweeting me.

While You Were Out ..

Leave a light on when it gets dark ..

content.met.police.uk/Site/crimeprevention

and  crimepreventionhomesecurity

Previous #MPSHaveringLive Events and some Press

This post is an archive of what happened in past Events and how that was reported. To see the tweets as they happened, scroll through the twitter widget on the right - the first tweet using the #MPSHaveringLive was made on 19 Nov 2014 (embedded below).

20 Nov 2014 A selection of Calls tweeted (23) of over 330+ total calls.

22 Jan 15 A selection of Calls tweeted (26), including the story that made the press: Dude, where's my car? Police tweet every call they get in 12 hours but first is from someone forgetting where they PARKED (Daily Mail)

19 Feb 2015 A selection of Calls tweeted (36).

16 June 2015 A selection of Calls tweeted (32).

More Press: Live Tweeting Havering Police Make Seven Arrests (Romford Recorder, 17 June 2015).

“Yes police my car’s been sto - oh wait, I just parked it on another street” (London 24, 22 Jan 2015)



Monday 9 November 2015

MPS Havering at YouTube

Four videos so far, on How to describe a suspect and Crime Prevention: Burglary, Bogus Builder and Lift, Lock and Remove