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Here’s the crime briefing for burglary and street crime reported in Wandsworth between 5 and 12 February, 2009.

The map is hosted by Google, and occasionally will not load, or will not load the flags, especially if you are on a slow connection. If it does not display correctly, try refreshing the page or following the link directly under the map. As usual there are some health warnings following the map.


View Larger Map

  1. Yellow flags represent burglaries and red flags represent street crime reported between 5 and 12 February, 2009.
  2. The briefing only contains details of burglaries and robberies. Other crimes are not included.
  3. You can see more detail by following the link to the Google website.
  4. The flags are not placed precisely (it would be irresponsible to advertise victims of burglary) but instead are spaced roughly equally on the roads they took place. The idea is to give a visual representation of the spread and range of crime in Wandsworth, rather than pinpointing crime locations.
  5. While I try to ensure the data is accurate it is reliant on the information I receive, and I’m only human, so it may be mistakes have crept in. Please let me know if you think you’ve spotted one.
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  • I took a day off yesterday. Result? I’m crazily busy today. So much to do, where do I start? #
  • Found a trap street in Google maps http://is.gd/iUOE so had to use a paper A-Z, 1st time in several years, and pleasingly retro to boot. #
  • That’s it, @IainDale’s gone a tenuous Draper reference too far, so I’m unsubscribing from his blog too. Someone tell me if he ever stops. #
  • Busy busy busy day. Now to the Town Hall for the Community Safety Scrutiny Ctte. Another step in setting the crime priorities for the year. #
  • Kicking off presentations of the strategic assessment of crime & disorder – there’ll be a public version on 19 Feb, I’ll Tweet details later #
  • I’m probably more pleased than I should be to discover one of Battersea’s better pubs – @dukebattersea – following me. #
  • I occasionally make the offer – anything (Wandsworth related) I can do for anyone? http://is.gd/j3c9 #
  • RT @RajeevTrikha: Twitter to begin charging brands for commercial use http://tinyurl.com/byl9rf – interesting discussion in the comments. #
  • Obviously I’m getting tired of life, spending the whole day in Central London today and I’m not entirely happy about it. #
  • Abusing the Apple Store’s wifi to catch up on email. My criticism of other’s doing it last week is irrelevant, and in no way hypocritical. #
  • Fascinating meeting at the Metropolitan Police Authority about crime mapping, and now a dash to a school governors’ meeting. #
  • Incredibly tired, and that goal seems to have sapped a lot of what energy I had left… #
  • On a cold cold platform at Clapham Junction waiting for Boris. #
  • Boris announces East London Line extension to Clapham Junction http://post.ly/1LK #
  • Couldn’t resist posting another Mayor pic http://post.ly/1LW #
  • My iPhoto now recognises Boris Johnson. It’s about the closest I’ve ever come to celebrity (altho’ I did once answer a call from him at 5am) #
  • #uksnow SW11 3/10 #
  • Trying to read council reports, but, frankly, the lure of pointless Tweeting can be too great. #
  • Here you go, me still wittering on about snow – I won’t say Wandsworth was perfect, but it was better than most http://is.gd/jpQB #
  • Was going to Tweet something cryptic, but does cryptic work on Twitter? #
  • Wandsworth’s crime has fallen again: http://is.gd/jr5W #
  • You can find out how we’re planning to fight crime over the next year at our ‘Face the Public’ meeting next week. http://is.gd/jrmX #
  • Spending Valentine’s morning romanticly, um, canvassing. I often wonder what my wife sees in me. #
  • Canvassing on Valentine’s Day is very productive, people bound to the door expecting flowers; I’m sure they weren’t disappointed at all. #
  • Does anyone really care what I wore canvassing? At least it’s a chance to show off the best t-shirt ever! http://twitpic.com/1hef3 #
  • So my wife’s secret admirer sent her flowers. But they were addressed to me. And the chocolates were missing. And there were only 11 roses. #
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The latest crime figures show crime continues to fall in Wandsworth, and that it remains the safest inner London borough – there’s been a 6.9% drop in overall crime in the past year.

But what next?

One of the things the council, along with the police and other partners, have been working on recently has been the strategic priorities.  Part of this process is a public meeting, where we present the ‘draft’ priorities and members of the public can let us know what they think and their concerns.

The ‘Face the Public’ meeting is being held at 6pm on Thursday, 19 February, in the council chamber at the Town Hall.  The meeting should last no longer than 90 minutes.

If you are interested in your borough, and what is done to make it safer, come along and talk to us.

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The January figures of Jobseekers Allowance claims have continued to rise.  January’s figures show an increase of 168 for the month, 1,082 for the year.

JSA claimants Jan 08 - Jan 09

It’s a fairly significant increase, although less than the previous month.

It’s worth bearing in mind that this is a total of Jobseekers Allowance claimants, those people who have registered as unemployment and been given Jobseekers Allowance.  The actual unemployment total is significantly higher.  Unemployment figures for boroughs are produced over six months after the period in question.  However, nationally the unemployment figure is 6.3%, whereas the national JSA claimant rate is just 3.4%.

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Snow in Theatre Street, SW11Perhaps it’s just that I love using the snow picture.  Perhaps it’s because I rather liked the snow.  Perhaps because it’s a bit of trumpet blowing.

Whatever it is, I’ve just been reading the council’s report on their response to the recent weather and I’m still impressed with what we achieved.

The task was enormous, as the report states “if all the footpaths in Wandsworth were to be laid end to end, they would reach Prague.”  Let the council’s Operational Services department did a stirling job in keeping the roads and pavements clear.

The gritters were out from 3pm on Sunday 1st February (before the snow started) and continued until Saturday 7th February.  At their peak the eight gritters were using salt at a rate of 500 tonnes a day and by the time they had finished all “the Principal routes had been gritted 6 times, all Borough roads 5 times, all footway priority areas 3 times and all borough road footways once.”

I cannot deny I still get exasperated at the complaints from this period. It was a one in 20 year event and we still responded remarkably well and far better than many other boroughs, one of our neighbours (a prize if you guess which) had run out of grit on the first day!

I have said this before and will say it again, congratulations to all the Operational Services staff.

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Boris explains the new extension

Boris explains the new extension

 

As I posted via Posterous earlier, Boris Johnson came to Clapham Junction to formally announce the East London Line would be extended to SW11.  It’s absolutely fantastic news for the area, and marks the end of eight year’s campaigning by the council to get the line here.

The new route will take commuters from Clapham Junction all the way, if they want, to Dalston Junction on the London Overground route via Surrey Quays.  It means there will be new routes to the City and Docklands.  Most importantly the route does not mean heading directly into zone one, but is orbital.  Hopefully this will relieve pressure on the station and services passing through the station.  As anyone who uses Clapham Junction at rush hour will know, it’s a bit of a crush and seems to be getting worse.

The new services should start before the Olympics, so there are a few more years to go, but after campaigning for eight years, it’s great to see the end in sight.

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The Regeneration and Community Safety OSC meeting on Monday spent a lot of time discussing the proposed priorities for the Partnership Strategy Group for the forthcoming year. And it was quite right to do this, these are going to be the priorities that the police and other partners have in their work for the next year.  I’ll be putting some stuff on this site about them in due course.

However, it did mean that other items on the agenda perhaps didn’t get the attention they deserved, partly because of the time, and partly because council meetings often focus on where there is disagreement between partners – most of these items were good news.

In an attempt to redress that I’m just going to briefly outline some of them (and link to the associated council report).

Junior and Safer Citizen Schemes
Council report
Junior Citizen schemes are commonplace now and few council’s don’t run a scheme of some type.  However Wandsworth was one of the first, and this year it celebrated its 20th year.

The  scheme involves exposing 10 year olds (there are 2,000 places a year) to a variety of scenarios to teach them about safety.  The scenarios are delivered by a range of partners and not just the council, so children meet fire fighters, police and ambulance staff as well as council officers.

It has recently been accredited by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents for its quality and in November the Safer Citizen scheme (which focuses on young disabled people) won a Safer Community Award from the Suzy Lamplugh Trust.

Neighbourhood Watch Strategy
Council report
It isn’t a very sexy title, but I think this is a very exciting project. Wandsworth has long been a strong supporter of Neighbourhood Watch (NW), the council is something of a rarity since in most places NW is run by the police rather than the council.  Here, it has meant a very strong NW community has developed and can get support from a dedicated group of council officers.

However, we did perhaps concentrate on quantity rather than quality.  And this makes sure this isn’t the case in the future.  For a start it sets out what everyone can expect from a NW scheme, so co-ordinators know what they have to do, but also what support they can expect from the council and their local Safer Neighbourhood Team.  It will also develop some of the innovative schemes like the training we offer to co-ordinators on flooding.  It very much turns NW into NW+ and strengthens and consolidates NW as part of the borough’s crime fighting partnership.

‘Not in my Neighbourhood’ Week
Council report
‘Not in my Neighbourhood’ Week is a Home Office scheme the council has participated in since its creation in 2007.  Wandsworth has been one of the most enthusiastic participants, organising a series of events for the week which promote and assist in crime prevention.  There were too many events to list here, but they ranged from a barbecue for students (to get across specific messages about student safety) to tea parties for the elderly (to teach them how to avoid suffering distraction burglarly) and a whole load of street stalls that you probably passed in one of the town centres.

None of it would have been possible without the dedication and enthusiasm of the council’s Community Safety Division who deserve congratulating for the work they do all year round.

If you have any concerns it might be worth taking a look at the council’s Community Safety website.

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Every now and then I use Twitter to offer my help to anyone in Wandsworth who wants it, this has prompted questions and requests ranging from parks to parking.

But for some reason I’ve never done it on my blog.  It’s not something I’ve really thought about, but think I’ve assume that if you have made it this far, you know what a councillor is and does and how they may be able to help or answer questions you have.  Of course, often this isn’t the case.  As I discovered on Twitter people don’t always think to ask, and just assume that nothing can be done about their little niggles.

So here’s the question:
Is there anything Wandsworth related I can do for you, you want to know, or with which I can help?

I can’t promise to help with everything, but I’ll certainly try my best and, at the very least, give a full explanation.  You can email me at cllr@jamescousins.com and find my other contact details on this website’s contact page.

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  • I’m slightly embarrassed that the UK grinds to a halt with a bit of snow. #
  • It’s snowing! http://is.gd/i4Ag #
  • I’m thinking I should get out there with my camera, but worry I’ll just end up getting questioned by the police again. #
  • My TV has died. Blessing or curse? #
  • No buses. No taxis. So I’m about to start a 1.5 mile walk to the Town Hall. “I’m going out now, I may be some time.” #
  • Amazed at what it’s like out there. Hardly any traffic, pubs closing at 9.30 just a handful of people on the streets. It’s eerie.. #
  • A rare blog post promotion: A little (self) praise for our response to the snow http://is.gd/idI8 #
  • Much as I like @stephenfry this is going a bit far – a #frylift hashtag?! Who are the other people in there, I want to follow them instead. #
  • I’m making a bad habit of Tweeting blog posts, but would appreciate comments on the future of Wandsworth crime mapping… http://is.gd/imHq #
  • Phew haven’t stopped today. And a full council meeting tonight, but I won’t be boring anyone with Tweets on that! #
  • Ego-RT @wandbc: Bin those scam emails and letters: The council is supporting a campaign to expose and combat some http://tinyurl.com/ashxve #
  • At a full council meeting where I’m pretty sure standing orders forbid me Tweeting. I MUST RESIST. #
  • Would-be cllrs tip: if you’re responding to a debate with five speakers, don’t drink lots of water before you go into the Council Chamber. #
  • Right, council meeting finished, slightly bizarre moment with Labour trying to congratulate Martin Linton for opposing the 3rd runway! #
  • Cold, wet and dismal out. The snow induced happiness seems to have disappeared and London is back to normal. #
  • If any cllrs find their way here from the firstonline article http://bit.ly/3Dz15a can I suggest you follow @CllrTweeps? #
  • Just been to a fascinating day on digital engagement and communities organized by @simongrace. Thanks and congratulations are in order. #
  • I’m not ashamed to admit I get a palpable sense of disappointment when I discover new followers are spam. But I do enjoy blocking them! #
  • Reading the #questiontime stream is really appealing to the Liberty supporting part of me. Not something I would have said a few years ago! #
  • It’s great that LMAO is a trending topic for no particular reason other than lots of people are laughing at lots of different things. #
  • Chairing the Employment and Skills Partnership ths morning, though some of our targets set pre-recession are looking a bit unrealistic now! #
  • Massive ego- RT: [SIF] Twitter best practice from Wandsworth Borough Council http://tinyurl.com/balzxo (via @twofootedtackle) in reply to twofootedtackle #
  • Ego of the last tweet aside, if anyone does have any Wandsworth problems or issues feel free to @, DM or email me, & I’ll try to help. #
  • Feeling guilty for my bout of egotism earlier. Sorry everyone, I will try and avoid subjecting you to it again. #
  • Shouldn’t be so bearish about the economy. The Employmt & Skills Partnership was very productive, there are reasons to be +ve in Wandsworth. #
  • I’m not retweeting @ingridk’s blog post because I’m going cold turkey on ego-tweets. #
  • Does anyone know of a fairly easy to set-up web-directory? doesn’t need to be too flash, just to work as a web front-end for a few weeks. #
  • Bad news for Balhamites. M&S have confirmed they are closing their Simply Food. http://is.gd/iEfA #
  • If any councillors happen across my Twitter after reading the LGA first feature, why not follow @CllrTweeps and visit http://cllrtweeps.com? #
  • At my cllr surgery. No attendees so far. Feel free to come along to Battersea library, no appointment needed! #
  • Still no attendees. These surgeries average 0.5 people a week, I’m beginning to think this is the week the 0.5 is rounded down. #
  • Pleased to read in the log that 2 weeks ago someone came to say they had no issues but asked the duty cllr to pass on their regards to me! #
  • My shift is over, no attendees. I’m not sure surgeries are the best way to offer access nowadays, but at least the library is warm & toasty! #
  • Just a gentle push for any councillors passing through here after reading LG first – please follow @CllrTweeps & visit http://cllrtweeps.com #
  • Time for the rugby now… but today, no Tweet is complete without pushing @CllrTweeps and http://cllrtweeps.com #
  • England winning the in rugby, now Grimsby in the lead against Exeter. The weekend is getting better. #
  • Exeter have equalised. How dare they? #
  • Indeed, though obviously I can’t speak for Dafydd (though he’d been speaking to Tweetminster about it!) #
  • Total Wipeout starts a night of naff TV, pizza & moderate alcohol consumption. There can only be one phrase to describe my life: Rock & Roll #
  • The definition of annoyance: seeing there’s a ‘QI XL’ just in time to catch the closing credits. Consoling myself with Transformers on Sky. #
  • Anyone watching ITV2? This has to be a classic movie scene. #