H&F Borough Commander describes "pride" at awards

Lucy D'Orsi

Hammersmith & Fulham police officers, police staff and members of the public were honoured for their acts of professionalism, teamwork, bravery, courage and dedication to duty at a commendation ceremony this afternoon. For a snapshot of their work click here for an account of one Saturday night in Shepherd's Bush, and one day raiding a Crystal Meth W12 drugs laboratory. Scary stuff.

The ceremony was hosted by the Borough Commander for Hammersmith & Fulham, Chief Superintendent Lucy D'Orsi, and Councillor Frances Stainton, Mayor of Hammersmith & Fulham at Pillar Hall, Olympia.

The Commendations were as follows:

For professionalism and tenacity in complex investigation into an organised criminal network:
DS Simon Rogers, DC Matt Deans, PC Paul Jackson, PC Laura Nye, PC Bob Dixon, DS Richard Gilbert, DC David Knowles, DC Angela Mills and Chris Flemyng.

For resilience and professionalism at the scene of a serious assault:
PC Attifa Pirmohamed and PC Jackie Anderson.

For tenacity, dedication and bravery shown during the initial response to an allegation of abduction:
Special Sergeant O’Mahoney and Special Constable Staines.

For bravery and tenacity shown during the arrest of a violent suspect armed with knives:
SC Dennis O’Mahoney.

For selfless and public spirited action leading to the arrest and conviction of a suspect for theft of cash:
Mr William Veazey.

For courage, determination and resilience at the seen of a violent confrontation leading to the arrest of three suspects for assaults on police:
PC Sean Tucker, PC Rebecca Guillebaud and PC Dai Rees.

For tenacity and commitment dealing with a mentally ill male:
PC Peter Hills.

Long Service Medal:
PC Paul Jackson.

For professionalism and courage at the scene of serious disorder at the TUC march:
PC Nick Jackson, PC Peter Hills, PC John Sheehan, PC Clive O’Rourke, PC Sean Tucker, PC Steven Spiteri, PC Claire Stevenson,
PC Kristen Cardwell, PC Christopher Fittall, PC Gavin Miller, PC Ryan Price,PC Stephen Gadd, PC Stuart McKee, PC David Denton.
PC Sean Murphy, PC James Franklin, PC Jonathan Lowe, PC Terry Mackin, PC Tom Stewart, PC Dan Riley, PC Mark Edwards.

For professionalism and courage at scene of  serious disorder at the student protest:
Insp Nick Milton, PC Paul Hammond, PC Nick Jackson, PC Gary Leaper, PC Stephen Gadd, PC Simon Pleavin, PC Lee Egan, PC Scott Johnson, PC Luke Veillet.

For involvement & commitment to the Borough:
PCSO Ben Milton, PCSO Joanna BUKACZEWSKA.

For outstanding forensic investigation:
Lorna Reeves.

For resilience and determination displayed in the arrest of a suspect:
PCSO Sean David.

Speaking at the ceremony H&F's Borough Commander, Chief Superintendent Lucy D'Orsi, said:

"Today is a day for us all to be very proud. The awards tell us a different story. We have heard about the peresonal bravery, dedication, commitment and selflessness often under very difficult and dangerous circumstances. I always feel tremendously humbled when I hear these stories. Today has not just been about the work of our policing teams here but it is also an opportunity for me to say thank-you to the families, friends and partners of those being commended. There is no doubt that without your forbearance, understanding and support my officers and staff would not be able to deliver the service they do to local and London wide communities."

Unsung heroes indeed.

BBC: H&F Council reserve homes for developers, not residents

BBC's "Homes under the Hammer" is daytime TV at its best, with perma-tanned presenters chit chatting with property developers who buy up homes, inject a bit of razzmatazz and then flog them on for a profit. You normally see someone spend just over their projected budget, tackle some issue with the house and then realise a tidy sum at the property auctioneers. It's standard fare for the programme.

What isn't standard fare for the programme, however, is finding properties that are being flogged off by a local authority, in this case our own H&F Council selling a ground floor flat in Shepherd's Bush for £180,000 - who then insist that the buyer cannot actually live there themselves. They will only agree to sell an H&F home to someone who is either going to sell it on done-up, rent it out, or just flog it on as it is.

Why would they do that? As the presenter explains, click here to watch, "This restrictive clause is essentially a way for the Council to keep all the money made from the sale. If the buyer lived in the flat the government would receive 75% of the capital. So it's good for the council but of course that does limit its attraction to buyers."

Well, yes.

And limit its attractions to those of us who think our Council might be doing a little bit more to help the thousands of those in our borough who are homeless or in need of larger accommodation, perhaps? But what's £180,000 between friends.

Chronicle "story" on sex attack false

Here we go again...our old friend Adam Courtney of the Fulham Chronicle was today busily broadcasting that there had been a sex attack reported in the Wormwood Scrubs area last night. There had been three in the last three months, he breathlessly reported on Twitter, making sure he used the #bushw12 hashtag to spread the news as widely as he could.

It was then posted by his colleague Rupert, eager not to be left out, who said there had been a multiple rape and that Police warnings had been issued for the local community to be careful. This was then re-tweeted by Adam Courtney and others, by now in a frenzy. Which is funny because having seen this I contacted the Police press office to see what was going on and they were mystified. None had been reported with no warnings having been issued.

And then came the below tweet from the same intrepid hack, but this time minus the hashtag for extra publicity. Because it was in fact a load of rubbish. A needless rumour which he bizarrely blamed on a "hockey club" and which he and his colleagues as professional journalists had contributed to spreading.

Sadly I do have cause to report on attacks in the Bush on here from time to time, and on every occasion I hear from some of you about how that makes you feel less secure. It's one of the reasons I tend to try and explain the other side of the police work in our neighbourhood that journalists don't report because it's not sensationalist - but nonetheless contributes to our safety as a community. That work, diligently done by people prepared to do a very dangerous job on our behalf at times, is not helped by this sort of thing from the Chronicle.

One day maybe they'll stop. All they needed to do was check with the local Police. But then facts can sometimes be boring.

So here's the boring truth - it was, apparently an email doing the rounds and which was entirely false. As a quick check from a professional journalist would have shown. Here's what Detective Chief Inspector Will Young from Hammersmith and Fulham Police has said this afternoon:

"I can fully understand that anyone receiving this email would be concerned about its contents and I am keen to reassure them that it is false information. I would actively encourage you to pass this reassurance onto anyone who you know may have received the email or have forwarded it on in good faith.

"Whilst there is no credence to this information I do take this opportunity to remind the public to take general safety precautions when they are out and beware of their surroundings when going about their daily lives."

 Let that be an end to rumour-mongering, eh?

1730 UPDATE - The Fulham Chronicle are now in damage limitation mode rowing backwards as fast as they can. Our friend Adam Courtney has taken to Twitter again to claim that the police are actually really grateful to them, and they have posted this article online, of which the first paragraph says this:

"EMAIL rumours that two women were raped in Wormwood Scrubs Park last night were quickly dismissed by police in an attempt to dispel wide spread panic".

No mention is made in the rest of the article, strangely, about how the Chronicle's own journalists helped whip that panic up by putting rumours around that they hadnt checked, and certainly no mention of why the police issued the statement after I alerted their press office to what the Chronicle was up to. They must have run out of space.

H&F car thieves warned to "beware"

Thieves read blogs too, y'know

James Adams, a 26 year old male from Fulham SW6, has plenty of time to think about exactly that after being sentenced to 5 months in prison for breaking into a vehicle in Prothero Rd SW6. What he didn't expect was that car would be one of the decoy vehicles deployed on Hammersmith and Fulham Borough to tackle this type of crime.

Captured on one of the many secret "trap" cars that are parked anywhere on the Borough, the high quality footage recorded his every move and lead to him pleading guilty for both this offence and also another theft from a motor vehicle in the W14 area.

Detective Inspector Foley, Hammersmith Crime Squad said:

"The beauty of this type of operation is it's ability to put the fear back in the minds of the criminals, they literally just don't know if the next car they break into is one of ours."

This year alone the operation has caught over 35 thieves with an impressive 100% conviction rate, and forms part of a wider crime reduction strategy which has seen a fall in crimes such as robbery and burglary by 5.5% across Hammersmith and Fulham

Still thinking about breaking into that car?

Crime prevention tips for reducing thefts from motor vehicle:-

• Lock and secure you vehicle at all times.
• Keep Valuables out of your car and leave nothing on show.
• Hide all keys, including car keys, out of sight when indoors.

49 Bus hits baby in push chair

A number of you have been in touch with me this morning to report what was a nasty incident this morning on the Goldhawk Road. I have just received this statement from the Police which I think it's fair to say is one of every parents worst nightmares.

"Officers were called at 08:18hrs by the London Ambulance Service today, Tuesday 15 November to reports of a road traffic collision along Goldhawk Road j/w Wells Road, W12".

"A route 49 bus was collision with a push chair".

"The baby was taken to a West London Hospital with non life threatening or changing injurie"s.

"Enquiries are underway to establish the circumstances of the collision".  

Perhaps if the police care to talk to people who see how the 49 bus is driven on many occasions, not to mention the 266, they may get a clearer idea.

Ken's campaign: we get lots of cabs

Tom Watson MP, the man who hounded the Murdoch empire to its knees over its despicable phone hacking practices, deserves a lot of credit for shining a light on that dark side of grubby journalism.

But he is also an attack dog for the Ken Livingstone campaign, and today I received an email from the great man saying this:

"OK, I admit it. I get a lot of cabs these days. And let me tell you why I know Boris Johnson is in trouble. London cab drivers are moaning about his transport plans. You can't stop a London cabbie complaining about likely congestion in the Olympics or pot holes in the road". 

"By the end of my weekly cab ride from Euston to Westminster my ears are usually ringing". 

"And come the New Year taxi drivers will be joined by every Londoner that regularly uses the buses and Tube. When travellers swipe their oyster cards in January they'll be silently cursing Boris Johnson. Why? Because he has taken the decision to dramatically increase fares again." 

"In January average fares in London will be going up 7% under Boris Johnson".

Boris' constant fare rises deserve to be criticised, but I'm not so sure about the reliance on black cab drivers as voices of concern for the average Londoner. These are people who already cost the earth for driving very short distances and are now demanding 15-20% higher fares or they boycott the Olympics. So not really on Londoners side after all. 

And in any case what on earth is Tom Watson doing getting a cab, presumably at public expense, from Euston to Westminster - an almost direct route on the tube which would get him there in much less time and even less expense to us? 

Tip to Tom: if you're going to talk about the tube, you might want to start using it. 

Remembrance in the Bush

30 Police Cadets and 26 Special Constables as well as many regular officers were on hand to make the Shepherds Bush remembrance parade pass smoothly. The annual Ceremony on Shepherds Bush Green was well attended and the officers and Cadets ensured that all who wished to were able to pay their respects. This included stopping the traffic around the green for the Minutes silence.

Police Cadets and MSC officers give up their spare time to work in their communities on various projects. So far this year alone Police Cadets and Staff have volunteered well over 5000 hours in support of local initiatives to reduce crime and the fear of crime in the local area. 

PS Ross Martyn who coordinates the Police Cadets on the Borough said 

“It was fantastic to see so many of our Cadets give up their time to show their respect to those who fought and died to give us many of the freedoms we now enjoy. We currently have vacancies at both our Shepherds Bush and Fulham units and would welcome applicants.”

I've now spent two patrols with the Shepherd's Bush police, one Saturday night in June and recently on a drugs raid which closed down a W12 crystal meth factory - these are people who willingly confront danger on our behalf despite bearing the brunt of cuts from politicians who are nowhere near as brave. That there are young people who also want to carry on that tradition of making our community safe, and are willing to haul themselves out of bed on a Sunday to pay their respects to people who have sacrificed everything for us, is a very different image of young people than we were presented by the local press during Augusts riots. Full marks to them.

Anyone interested in the Police Cadets should call PS Ross Martyn on 0208 246 2522 to register their interest.

H&F spends £38K on pro-council West Ken residents group

£38,000 of your cash has been spent thus far by our Council supporting a pro-Council group of residents from the West Kensington & Gibbs Green Estate, according to Inside Housing magazine.

This, regular readers will recall, is the plan to demolish the West Ken estate that has had the majority of residents up in arms for years, leading to protests inside Parliament and Mayor Johnson recently being confronted by the demand for a vote at a Council/Chronicle public relations event. Our Council Leader actually wrote a heartfelt personal plea to the relevant Minister pleading that he "really needed [his] help on this one". He certainly did - the residents were on the verge of using new Big Society legislation to evict the Council as a "rogue landlord".

Underlining just why this week's decision to impose a "need to know" rule on all future property speculator led planning applications is so serious for Hammersmith & Fulham, we now see that this administration is prepared to chuck tens of thousands of pounds at a group which toes the Council line. Nuff said.

Man hospitalised by robbers on Cathnor Road W12

Detectives from Hammersmith & Fulham are appealing for information following a robbery in Shepherds Bush.

On Monday 31st October at 23:00hrs a 38-year-old man was robbed along Cathnor Road, W12.

The victim was walking along Cathnor Road when he was approached by a male who asked him for directions. As the victim was giving directions he was hit on the back of his head by another male. He was hit 6 times in the head until fell to the floor. They then demanded property and made off with the victims mobile phone and green wallet containing credit and debit cards.

As a result of the robbery the victim was taken to a west London hospital. A section of his top lip was torn away which required stitches, he sustained swelling to his left eye, a cut to his left eyelid and sustained bruising to his eyes, back of his head and his hands were grazed.

Suspect 1 was described as a tall, lean black male with very dark skin tone, in his late teens, early twenties, a street-style London accent, wearing a grey hoodie with the hood up.

Suspect 2 was described as wearing an oatmeal or tan coloured hooded top.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Detective Jim Berry based in the Burglary Squad at Hammersmith Police Station on 0208 246 2679. Alternatively if you wish to remain anonymous call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.