May 2021

Dear all, To provide an update I have recently been joined by Insp Cathy Thomas. She will take over the south wards and I will retain North along with the newly formed Town Centre Teams which will also cover Broad Green & wards. With these new teams you should see an in- creased uniformed presence within the town centre and I have tasked them to focus on violent crimes, drugs, retail theft and ASB.

As always any information or questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

South Norwood, Woodside & West The Addiscombe West team received information a brothel was being run from a flat in Lesley Park Road. Officers have been working closely with the Modern Slavery Proactive Taskforce and after conducting a joint visit to the property one female was arrested for immigration offences. She was offered assistance and support before choosing to vacate the property permanently. Fol- lowing intelligence of drug use at a property in Albert Road, Woodside, a Warrant was authorised and executed. While only a small find this resulted in the occupant responsible being removed from the property, following consultation with a very grateful Landlord. Two officers from the team identified two males they wanted to speak to on Portland Road. The males ran off and a foot chase commenced. Both suspects were successfully detained and two knives were found discard- ed nearby. Both males were arrested for possession of offensive weapons and have been released under investigation. Town Centre Teams The Town Centre Teams are now into their second month and fully imbedded. At the start of the month they ran an operation targeting shoplifting. This resulted in 4 arrests, 3 community resolutions and at least £300 of items recovered. This was built on a week later with 2 arrests made and over £500 of clothing returned. The team assisted in an operation at East & West Croydon stations targeting those suspected of being involved in County Lines. Plain clothes officers identified one male outside East Croydon who looked to avoid uniformed officers. When trying to stop the male he ran and was detained nearby, howev- er he didn’t want to go down without a fight. When he was eventually handcuffed he was found to be in possession of a large hunting knife which was concealed down the front of his joggers. He was arrested, charged and remanded for possession of an offensive weapon. Unbelievably he has two other impend- ing cases for carrying knives and was on tag. Inspector Stephen Warnes [email protected]

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Town Centre Team — Continued... The team had a similar interaction the next day out- side West Croydon when two males ran on seeing Po- lice. Both were detained on Parsons Mead. One was wanted for arson and the other had a knife discarded near him. Both were arrested. The team have made over 40 arrests this month including for robbery, GBH, numerous weapons offences, attempted child abduc- tion, numerous assaults against Police, numerous shoplifting offences, seven drug offences, and a good number of miscellaneous offences including immigra- tion and recalls to prison. The team have also recov- ered seven knives and two offensive weapons in May.

Thornton Heath, Bensham Manor & West Thornton The Thornton Heath team have been exceptionally busy. Earlier this month they executed a search warrant at an ad- dress on Southwell Road, West Thornton. A large cannabis factory was found with over 150 fully grown plants with a substantial street value. While many people have differing views about the legalisation of cannabis it still remains a controlled drug, is linked to modern slavery, gangs and or- ganised crime groups. On several occasions this year we have seen armed gangs attempt to rob cannabis factories for their crop. The factory has been closed down and I see this as a win for the local community. The team executed another search warrant in Leander Road, West Thornton and recov- ered a substantial quantity of suspected cocaine and recov- ered £10K cash (Photos overleaf). Three arrests were made for possession with intent to supply and they remain under investigation. The team also conducted a stop & search and found a mobile phone not belonging to that individual. The offender was arrested & charged, and within 24 hours the phone was reunited with its lawful owner. The team were so quick that when they contacted the victim they didn't even know their phone had been taken!

InspectorInspector StephenStephen WarnesWarnes [email protected]@met.police.uk

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Catalytic Converter Thefts The Operation Basswood Team have continued their manhunt and have arrested another nine subjects for conspiracy to commit theft from motor vehicles. Five of those have subsequently been charged and remanded. Since the operation we have seen a substantial reduction in catalytic con- verter thefts. Approx 69% reduction in Croydon, Sutton & Bromley and a 49% reduction across the capital.

Norbury & Pollards Hill The Team have been working very hard to put a prolific shoplifter behind bars. This particular in- dividual had been targeting shops on Road for the past few months and making the lives of staff a misery. Thanks to the team’s tenacity and dedication they managed to get enough evi- dence to arrest the male who last week was subsequently sentenced to 12 months in prison.

InspectorInspector StephenStephen WarnesWarnes [email protected]@met.police.uk

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