I took the upper of the two photos above a couple of weeks ago; it shows the general bulk cargo vessel the Elka W heading down river, past Erith. Many people forget that Erith has been a maritime port town since the Bronze Age, and it is really only in the last couple of decades that the reliance on shipping has reduced. Now that Erith Pier is a centre for leisure, and less used as a mooring point for ships, the emphasis has mainly moved away from shipping as a commercial venture, and more towards it as a leisure activity - with organisations such as Erith Rowing Club and Erith Yacht Club being preeminent in this respect. Commercial shipping such as the Elka W does still play a part in the local economy - as workers at the ADM edible oil refinery in Church Manor Way will attest. ADM are very heavily dependant on commercial shipping traffic, as most of their raw materials arrive by sea and river, as can be seen in the lower of the two photos above. The company originally started up in 1908, when it was known as Erith Oil Works – the business then was similar to now; they crush and process all kinds of seeds, to extract their natural oils, which are used in foodstuffs, cooking oils and animal feeds. The seeds, then as now are brought upriver in large bulk freighter ships. The distinctive huge concrete silos that are still present on the ADM Oil site were constructed in 1916, where they are some of the earliest surviving examples of reinforced concrete construction in the UK. They were constructed by Danish structural engineering company Christiani and Nielsen, who invented reinforced concrete construction techniques. ADM Oils have in the past been guilty of causing the terrible smells that we have experienced in the local area. The reason for this was that the filters on the oil seed boiler chimneys used to not be changed as often as they were supposed to be. Lately ADM's plant engineers seem to have been a lot more conscientious in this respect, and the sickly and pervasive smell has now been largely absent, thankfully.
There are a number of scams and fraudulent operations being targetted at the Bexley area at present, two in particular are potentially very frightening for the innocent recipients - these have been confirmed as genuine by Bexley Trading Standards and Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association, and are featured separately from the usual weekly ward safety and security updates. The first scam operates as follows - this message is courtesy of Bexley Trading Standards:- "Trading Standards would like to share with you a call they took from a Bexley resident: I received a phone call at approximately 10:20am from a man who reported he was from the Tax Office. He told me he had an arrest warrant for me, he knew my name address and date of birth. He told me I owed £900.00 and 2 letters had been sent to my address but have been returned to the Tax Office. The man told me the arrest warrant will become active unless I pay £900.00 now over the phone, if I don't pay he is going to send a Police Car over with a warrant for my arrest in half an hour. I told the man I am not going to pay you any money, so the man said you can pay now or fight the case in court. I said I will fight the case in court and the man put down the phone. The caller said officers would come from Bexleyheath Police Station". BBNWA say that the HMRC will never telephone you. Never give your bank details over the phone or by email. An arrest warrant would never be issued. The second scam that is currently being operated locally is in the form of a malicious blackmail Email. The details are as follows:- "'This is a scam, delete the message immediately: Yṍu don't know me and you are most likely thinking why yȫu're getting this email, right? Let me tell you, I installed à malwäre on the adult video clips (pᴏrnography) web-site and guess what, you visited this site to experience fun (you know what I mean). While you were watching videṑs, your web browser started out functioning as ã RDP (Remote cȫntrṓl Desktop) having a key logger which provided me with âccess to yȫur display screen and web camerã. Just after thàt, my software program gathered every ōne ᴏf yṓur contâcts from messenger, social netwŏrks, as well as email. Whát did I do? I created a double-screen video. 1st pârt shows the videȯ you were viewing (you hãve ã fine taste hähà), and next part displays the recording of your cam. What shṍuld yоu do? Well, in my opinion, $300 is a reasŏnable price for our little secret. Yᴏu'll make the pâyment by Bitcoin (if you do not know this, seàrch hоw tȫ buy bitcoin, it's extremely easy). My bitcoin áddress is: 1G1MnBr5iPJSRwZwQwmYGEKkJk5Rq1jcit. Important: You nōw have just one dáy in order to mâke the payment. (I have ã speciàl pixel in this e-mail, and at this mȫment I know that yṑu häve read this e mail). If I dоn't get the BitCoins, I definitely will send out your videṍ tо all of your cȫntacts including members ṍf yȫur family, coworkers, and many others. However, if I receive the páyment, I will destroy the video immidiately. If you wánt proof, reply with Yes! and I definitely will send ŏut your videṍ to your 6 contacts.' " The text above is a verbatim copy of the original, complete with typos, weird fonts and control characters - so don't Email me complaining about the typography. The message is complete rubbish designed to scare the recipient into paying up - there is no malware downloaded onto the target computer - it is all just scaremongering tosh. If you receive an Email of this nature, just flag it as Spam and then delete it.
Bexley Council are launching a public consultation regarding the possible installation of charging points around the borough for electric vehicles. In an announcement released on Friday, they said that:- "Local residents and businesses are being asked to have their say on the introduction of electric vehicle (EV) charging points in the borough and to help shape the Council’s plans for creating a network of publicly accessible charge points across Bexley. Electric cars are not only kind to the environment but can also save you money on fuel costs as well as providing access to a range of other financial benefits such as government grants for new plug-in vehicles, 100% discount on the congestion charge, no vehicle tax (VED) or a reduced rate depending on their CO2 emissions. If you’ve already got an electric vehicle or are may be thinking about purchasing one in the near future or perhaps you just have something else positive to contribute to the debate, please email your comments and your reason for your interest to electric.vehicles@bexley.gov.uk. Please let us know if you are willing to be contacted for further discussion and if so, we might be calling on you to help us plan for creating the cleaner and greener Bexley of tomorrow". I am fully supportive of the move towards electric vehicles, as long as the electricity that they are powered by comes from renewable, non - polluting sources; if you are using electricity from, for example a coal - fired power station to propel your electric car, all you are doing is shifting the point of pollution. I suspect that the proposed location of any car charging points will be located in Bexleyheath, Sidcup and other points in the South of the borough, rather than in Abbey Wood, Erith or Slade Green in the North. What do you think? Please leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.
Bexley Council are launching a public consultation regarding the possible installation of charging points around the borough for electric vehicles. In an announcement released on Friday, they said that:- "Local residents and businesses are being asked to have their say on the introduction of electric vehicle (EV) charging points in the borough and to help shape the Council’s plans for creating a network of publicly accessible charge points across Bexley. Electric cars are not only kind to the environment but can also save you money on fuel costs as well as providing access to a range of other financial benefits such as government grants for new plug-in vehicles, 100% discount on the congestion charge, no vehicle tax (VED) or a reduced rate depending on their CO2 emissions. If you’ve already got an electric vehicle or are may be thinking about purchasing one in the near future or perhaps you just have something else positive to contribute to the debate, please email your comments and your reason for your interest to electric.vehicles@bexley.gov.uk. Please let us know if you are willing to be contacted for further discussion and if so, we might be calling on you to help us plan for creating the cleaner and greener Bexley of tomorrow". I am fully supportive of the move towards electric vehicles, as long as the electricity that they are powered by comes from renewable, non - polluting sources; if you are using electricity from, for example a coal - fired power station to propel your electric car, all you are doing is shifting the point of pollution. I suspect that the proposed location of any car charging points will be located in Bexleyheath, Sidcup and other points in the South of the borough, rather than in Abbey Wood, Erith or Slade Green in the North. What do you think? Please leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.
This week marks the twentieth anniversary of the launch of Windows 98. Back in the day, Windows was not an operating system as we know it today; it was a graphical user interface which sat on top of the actual operating system - DOS - which stood for Disk Operating System. From Windows version 1 through various incarnations up to and including the appallingly unreliable Windows ME, all Windows did was act as an easy to use interface on the top of the then already ancient and outdated DOS, which actually did all of the work. DOS was actually an almost like for like copy of an even older command line interface operating system called CP/M. This was deemed acceptable for home use, but not for office and professional use, Microsoft created a second operating system called Windows NT - which stood for New Technology - which was a completely different beast. It was written from the ground up, and was much superior to the DOS based home versions, but had far higher hardware requirements, which were often out of reach for home users - at that time Windows NT in its various guises also had little support for peripherals outside of a tightly controlled list, and it also did not support much in the way of games, the first few versions also ran older 16 bit applications much more slowly than the home versions of Windows. Microsoft had plans to integrate the two operating system versions into a single product, but it proved exceedingly difficult to do, and for many years the two operating systems were sold side by side. Windows 98 was an update to the hugely successful Windows 95. While Windows NT 4.0 pointed to a future free from DOS, the majority of the Windows user base simply did not have the computer hardware to run much more than a souped-up version of Windows 95. Thus Windows 98 appeared to bridge the gap. Codenamed Memphis, the first beta of Windows 98 arrived in 1996 with the final Release To Manufacturing version appearing two years later. USB support came as standard, along with a range of functions intended as a nod to the then new World Wide Web. Applications such as Outlook Express, FrontPage Express and a personal web server appeared as part of the installation. Windows 98 customers were also treated to the joy that was Internet Explorer 4, along with the Active Desktop, which allowed HTML content (such as streaming news headlines) to be shown on the user's desktop at the cost of prodigious amounts of processor power and memory. Windows 98 is regarded as the pinnacle of the Windows 9x era, with an update shipping the following year in the form of Windows 98 SE (Second Edition) including a number of minor enhancements such as the inclusion of Internet Explorer 5. The final iteration, the much derided and incredibly flaky Windows ME, arrived in 2000. With Windows 98, Microsoft cemented its position as the dominant player in the personal computing industry. However, in the midst of its self-congratulatory antics and self-inflicted legal troubles, it entirely failed to notice something else happen in 1998. A company, initially operating out of a garage in California, was incorporated. Its name was Google.
Erith is about to get a new Vicar. The position has been vacant at Christ Church Erith for a little under a year, since the previous incumbent, The Reverend Julie Conalty was promoted, and moved on to a new role as the Archdeacon of Tonbridge. Her replacement will be The Reverend Monica Eunice Cameron, who you can see in the photograph above - click on it for a larger view. Christ Church Erith will be Monica's first role as Vicar - she was Curate in the Parish of St Mary the Virgin Great Shelford, Cambridge, in The Ely Diocese. Prior to joining the priesthood, Monica had a career as a teacher, and also as a solicitor, which should stand her in good stead in Erith. Monica is a widow, and has three daughters, two of whom are adult, whilst the third will be living with her in the vicarage. Monica, who will be using the name of "Mother Monica" whilst in ministry, will be moving into the Vicarage on 14th August 2018 and she will be appointed as the Vicar of Christ Church on 22nd September at 6pm. Monica hopes to grow vegetables in the vicarage garden. I hope to be running a more detailed article on her in the near future.
Now for the weekly safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association; firstly a report from Barnehurst ward:- "Good news again for Barnehurst as we did not have many crimes. The team have carried out various weapon sweeps on the ward in relation to the Mets initiative to reduce violent crime, as several locations have been searched across the ward. If you have any information around knife crime or wish to discuss anything else with the team than please get in contact with us. However if there is an imminent threat or a serious incident than please do not hesitate to call 999. The team have noticed that a black off road motorcycle has been seen riding around Hurstwood Avenue and is being ridden by younger youths. If you happen to have any more information about this than please contact the team. Unfortunately the team will have to cancel our community contact session on Wednesday 4th July at Barnehurst Golf Club. Please join us for our community contact day on Tuesday 10th July at 11am at Barnehurst Golf Course. We will discuss any ward issues that you have and we will also provide residents with crime prevention advice. We will attempt to arrange another contact session before the next one, so please look on the website". Belvedere ward:- "A resident in Fendyke Rd had her car door opened and cash stolen at approximately 4.30 am on Monday 25th June . The car was not locked. They have got it all on camera. The guy who carried out the theft was white with grey jogging bottoms with a light blue hoodie top. He had a rucksack on his back". Bexleyheath ward:- "We are going to hold our next contact session on Friday 6th July between 1pm and 2pm at the Conservative Club, feel free to pop along if you can. There was a report of criminal damage to two cash machines outside Halifax Bank on the Broadway. This was reported between 23/06/2018 & 25/06/2018. Also there was a report of Theft from person that was reported along The Broadway on the 22/06/2018. We have had no reports of any burglaries or attempted burglaries on the ward which is good news. The team are continuing the World cup patrols and working with local alcohol establishments on our ward to help reduce any ASB. We are also continuing high visibility patrols around Martens Grove and surrounding areas including the garages between Grove Road and Braeside Crescent as this is becoming an area for youths to congregate and misbehave. The team is also conducting regular weapons sweeps on the ward mainly around in car park areas, this is help keep weapons of the streets. A licenced premises on our ward had their licence suspended and another licenced premises had new conditions refused which wanted their licence to be extended until 2am. The team are also dealing with a GBH and Criminal damage as suspects have been identified and is currently being investigated. This had taken place at Goals in the car park area". Crayford ward:- "On Thursday 21 June at 21.30 criminal damage was committed at Grazeley Close. Suspect kicked at door smashing window and damaging a panel. At around the same time a robbery had taken place nearby on open ground close to Hall Place, the suspects were chased and later detained and arrested. It is believed that these incidents are linked. On Thursday 16th at 03.00 a black Ford KA was broken in to at Bourne Mead. The steering column was broken and the log book and car radio was taken. Between 16th and 19th June the river keeper’s area (Crayford Way) by the River Cray was broken in to and a wheelie bin containing aluminium cans were stolen. On Friday 22nd June between 03.30 and 09.00 a white Ford Transit was stolen from outside 10 Mayplace Avenue, number plate NJ62 OPF, the victim still has the keys. On Sunday 17th June between 22.00-22.30 a motorcycle was interfered with at Burgate Close. On Monday 25th June at 21.00 there was a ram raid at HSS, Acorn Industrial Estate. Anti-ram posts were removed and the van reversed hard in to the shutters causing them to buckle and entry to be gained, power tools worth approx £10,000 were stolen. On Monday 25/06/2018 a Male was arrested for offensive weapons after being reported for behaving erratically. A public order offence was committed at Iron Mill Lane on Monday 25th June at 9.15, abuse was shouted in the street. Four tickets were given to people who had been using their mobile phones whilst driving. Our team assisted with the civic parade on Sunday to ensure that all the people taking place were able to parade safely. We have also completed weapons sweeps and foot and mobile patrols around the ward to ensure that Crayford is a safe place to be and to provide reassurance to our residents". Erith ward:- "We will be at the Erith Fun day this year on the 7th July offering free bike marking; be sure to pop along if you need any further advice. I will send an update of the local crimes in Erith later in the week as currently there are a few issues with the system". Northumberland Heath ward:- "We are pleased to announce another week without any reported burglaries on the ward. Reported crime as a whole has been minimal this week with only two of theft of motor vehicle and one of criminal damage. The team were busy over the weekend being called to assist with Borough wide patrols for the World Cup and also conducting plain clothed patrols of the area. During these patrols we conducted one stop and search which started with a male using nitrous oxide canisters and ended up with him being arrested for Possession With Intent To Supply Cannabis and Psychoactive Substances and after a search of his home address being further arrested for Possession of Class A Drugs. We have been in touch with several residents about this potential rise in ASB on the ward and will be out conducting proactive patrols in these areas over the weekend to identify the youths involved, search them wherever the grounds allow and to intervene in the group to disperse them. Our next Contact Session is on Friday 6th July at noon at North Heath Library, Mill Road. Feel free to drop in". Slade Green and North End ward:- "Over the last few years the team has been working closely with L and Q housing association to evict a family well known for causing ASB and involved in vehicle crime. After initially obtaining a suspended possession order, the family continued to breach the order. Yesterday the family of 4 male adults were evicted sending out a very strong message that the police and authorities work together in partnership to evict problem tenants who continue to offend and cause issues in the local community. PC Mark Brookes-Smith has committed a lot of work with L and Q during this time and it is a great result that his hard work has paid off. The only crime of note this week is the theft of a mobility scooter from the car park in Bushey Court. CCTV is being viewed to try and identify the offender(s). The team has completed weapons sweeps in Forest Road, Orchard House and Craydene Open space in the last week as part of Operation Spectre which is set around knife crime. All the sweeps had a negative return. 6 positive stop and searches were carried out by PC Mark and James with several cannabis seizures as a result. PC James arrested a male last week who was wanted for domestic malicious communications. We await to see the outcome of the investigation. PCSO Mark attended the annual Rainbow Road street party on Saturday evening and had a nice time engaging with residents and eating the home made fare on offer. Several residents expressed an interest in taking over the recently vacated Neighbourhood Watch scheme on the estate, watch this space for updates on this". Thamesmead East ward:- "Burglaries - An attempted burglary occurred in Redbourne Drive between 03:00pm on Thursday 21/06/18 and 05:15pm on Friday 22/06/18. Good News - Following an arrest for Cannabis by officers on mobile patrol in Fairway Drive, investigations by PC Nana Quarshie-Awuah are ongoing. Cannabis warning was issued to a male in Yarnton Way by PC Pruden who was accompanied by PCSO Buckley who noticed a small bag of cannabis nearby, which will be destroyed. Future Contact Date - On Thursday 5th July, a Community Contact Session will be held at The Lakeside Health Centre, Yarnton Way between 1 – 2 pm. An opportunity for members of the community to speak with a Dedicated Ward Officer".
Erith is about to get a new Vicar. The position has been vacant at Christ Church Erith for a little under a year, since the previous incumbent, The Reverend Julie Conalty was promoted, and moved on to a new role as the Archdeacon of Tonbridge. Her replacement will be The Reverend Monica Eunice Cameron, who you can see in the photograph above - click on it for a larger view. Christ Church Erith will be Monica's first role as Vicar - she was Curate in the Parish of St Mary the Virgin Great Shelford, Cambridge, in The Ely Diocese. Prior to joining the priesthood, Monica had a career as a teacher, and also as a solicitor, which should stand her in good stead in Erith. Monica is a widow, and has three daughters, two of whom are adult, whilst the third will be living with her in the vicarage. Monica, who will be using the name of "Mother Monica" whilst in ministry, will be moving into the Vicarage on 14th August 2018 and she will be appointed as the Vicar of Christ Church on 22nd September at 6pm. Monica hopes to grow vegetables in the vicarage garden. I hope to be running a more detailed article on her in the near future.
Now for the weekly safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association; firstly a report from Barnehurst ward:- "Good news again for Barnehurst as we did not have many crimes. The team have carried out various weapon sweeps on the ward in relation to the Mets initiative to reduce violent crime, as several locations have been searched across the ward. If you have any information around knife crime or wish to discuss anything else with the team than please get in contact with us. However if there is an imminent threat or a serious incident than please do not hesitate to call 999. The team have noticed that a black off road motorcycle has been seen riding around Hurstwood Avenue and is being ridden by younger youths. If you happen to have any more information about this than please contact the team. Unfortunately the team will have to cancel our community contact session on Wednesday 4th July at Barnehurst Golf Club. Please join us for our community contact day on Tuesday 10th July at 11am at Barnehurst Golf Course. We will discuss any ward issues that you have and we will also provide residents with crime prevention advice. We will attempt to arrange another contact session before the next one, so please look on the website". Belvedere ward:- "A resident in Fendyke Rd had her car door opened and cash stolen at approximately 4.30 am on Monday 25th June . The car was not locked. They have got it all on camera. The guy who carried out the theft was white with grey jogging bottoms with a light blue hoodie top. He had a rucksack on his back". Bexleyheath ward:- "We are going to hold our next contact session on Friday 6th July between 1pm and 2pm at the Conservative Club, feel free to pop along if you can. There was a report of criminal damage to two cash machines outside Halifax Bank on the Broadway. This was reported between 23/06/2018 & 25/06/2018. Also there was a report of Theft from person that was reported along The Broadway on the 22/06/2018. We have had no reports of any burglaries or attempted burglaries on the ward which is good news. The team are continuing the World cup patrols and working with local alcohol establishments on our ward to help reduce any ASB. We are also continuing high visibility patrols around Martens Grove and surrounding areas including the garages between Grove Road and Braeside Crescent as this is becoming an area for youths to congregate and misbehave. The team is also conducting regular weapons sweeps on the ward mainly around in car park areas, this is help keep weapons of the streets. A licenced premises on our ward had their licence suspended and another licenced premises had new conditions refused which wanted their licence to be extended until 2am. The team are also dealing with a GBH and Criminal damage as suspects have been identified and is currently being investigated. This had taken place at Goals in the car park area". Crayford ward:- "On Thursday 21 June at 21.30 criminal damage was committed at Grazeley Close. Suspect kicked at door smashing window and damaging a panel. At around the same time a robbery had taken place nearby on open ground close to Hall Place, the suspects were chased and later detained and arrested. It is believed that these incidents are linked. On Thursday 16th at 03.00 a black Ford KA was broken in to at Bourne Mead. The steering column was broken and the log book and car radio was taken. Between 16th and 19th June the river keeper’s area (Crayford Way) by the River Cray was broken in to and a wheelie bin containing aluminium cans were stolen. On Friday 22nd June between 03.30 and 09.00 a white Ford Transit was stolen from outside 10 Mayplace Avenue, number plate NJ62 OPF, the victim still has the keys. On Sunday 17th June between 22.00-22.30 a motorcycle was interfered with at Burgate Close. On Monday 25th June at 21.00 there was a ram raid at HSS, Acorn Industrial Estate. Anti-ram posts were removed and the van reversed hard in to the shutters causing them to buckle and entry to be gained, power tools worth approx £10,000 were stolen. On Monday 25/06/2018 a Male was arrested for offensive weapons after being reported for behaving erratically. A public order offence was committed at Iron Mill Lane on Monday 25th June at 9.15, abuse was shouted in the street. Four tickets were given to people who had been using their mobile phones whilst driving. Our team assisted with the civic parade on Sunday to ensure that all the people taking place were able to parade safely. We have also completed weapons sweeps and foot and mobile patrols around the ward to ensure that Crayford is a safe place to be and to provide reassurance to our residents". Erith ward:- "We will be at the Erith Fun day this year on the 7th July offering free bike marking; be sure to pop along if you need any further advice. I will send an update of the local crimes in Erith later in the week as currently there are a few issues with the system". Northumberland Heath ward:- "We are pleased to announce another week without any reported burglaries on the ward. Reported crime as a whole has been minimal this week with only two of theft of motor vehicle and one of criminal damage. The team were busy over the weekend being called to assist with Borough wide patrols for the World Cup and also conducting plain clothed patrols of the area. During these patrols we conducted one stop and search which started with a male using nitrous oxide canisters and ended up with him being arrested for Possession With Intent To Supply Cannabis and Psychoactive Substances and after a search of his home address being further arrested for Possession of Class A Drugs. We have been in touch with several residents about this potential rise in ASB on the ward and will be out conducting proactive patrols in these areas over the weekend to identify the youths involved, search them wherever the grounds allow and to intervene in the group to disperse them. Our next Contact Session is on Friday 6th July at noon at North Heath Library, Mill Road. Feel free to drop in". Slade Green and North End ward:- "Over the last few years the team has been working closely with L and Q housing association to evict a family well known for causing ASB and involved in vehicle crime. After initially obtaining a suspended possession order, the family continued to breach the order. Yesterday the family of 4 male adults were evicted sending out a very strong message that the police and authorities work together in partnership to evict problem tenants who continue to offend and cause issues in the local community. PC Mark Brookes-Smith has committed a lot of work with L and Q during this time and it is a great result that his hard work has paid off. The only crime of note this week is the theft of a mobility scooter from the car park in Bushey Court. CCTV is being viewed to try and identify the offender(s). The team has completed weapons sweeps in Forest Road, Orchard House and Craydene Open space in the last week as part of Operation Spectre which is set around knife crime. All the sweeps had a negative return. 6 positive stop and searches were carried out by PC Mark and James with several cannabis seizures as a result. PC James arrested a male last week who was wanted for domestic malicious communications. We await to see the outcome of the investigation. PCSO Mark attended the annual Rainbow Road street party on Saturday evening and had a nice time engaging with residents and eating the home made fare on offer. Several residents expressed an interest in taking over the recently vacated Neighbourhood Watch scheme on the estate, watch this space for updates on this". Thamesmead East ward:- "Burglaries - An attempted burglary occurred in Redbourne Drive between 03:00pm on Thursday 21/06/18 and 05:15pm on Friday 22/06/18. Good News - Following an arrest for Cannabis by officers on mobile patrol in Fairway Drive, investigations by PC Nana Quarshie-Awuah are ongoing. Cannabis warning was issued to a male in Yarnton Way by PC Pruden who was accompanied by PCSO Buckley who noticed a small bag of cannabis nearby, which will be destroyed. Future Contact Date - On Thursday 5th July, a Community Contact Session will be held at The Lakeside Health Centre, Yarnton Way between 1 – 2 pm. An opportunity for members of the community to speak with a Dedicated Ward Officer".
As I predicted a while ago, the good weather has seen an increase in the number of illegal moped gangs seen in the local area - the photo above is a screen capture of a video shot in North End Road at the Crayford end recently - it speaks for itself. On Thursday afternoon as I headed towards Morrison's from Erith Station, a scrote wearing a bandanna but no crash helmet hurtled on a motor bike with no number plate through Erith town centre, along Pier Road and down into the High Street - an area that is paved and for the exclusive use of pedestrians. This is fairly typical of the anti social behaviour these scumbags exhibit. There was a report in the London Evening Standard this week which said that a recently leaked Home Office report revealed that an ‘excess supply’ of cocaine following a bumper coca harvest in Colombia has played a role, as moped gangs vie for control of a lucrative drugs market. Furthermore, the document stated that changes in policy to keep young people out of the prison system by handing them community sentences instead of jail time may have allowed violent crime to thrive. Added to this toxic cocktail of factors is anecdotal evidence from police which indicates that the decrease in stop and search since 2009 has meant young people are now more inclined to carry knives because of growing confidence that they will not be stopped. As a response to the rising knife crime rate, targeted, intelligence-led stop and search has ‘significantly increased’ since January, according to London Mayor Sadiq Khan, although total searches remain lower. Professor Simon Harding, a criminologist at The University of West London stated that "‘It’s well-documented that there’s a correlation between increased temperature and elevated crime levels.One theory is that adrenaline and testosterone levels rise in warmer weather, and people are spending more time outside, particularly teenagers on summer holidays. Ways for gang members to gain status and respect are becoming more extreme, which is why we’re seeing hyper-violent acts such as acid attacks and zombie knives. Tension in London is so high at the moment that if we get a spell of good weather it could well kick off into public disorder". Harding points out that it is important to notice the connection between multinational criminal networks involved in large-scale importation of drugs and human trafficking, street gangs dealing drugs and running ‘county lines’ (using younger gang members to shift narcotics business outside of London) and small-scale moped crime such as is prevalent in Bexley. ‘In recent years we’ve seen drugs distributed by moped in what’s become a 24-hour “dial-a-dealer” operation,’ he explained in the article. ‘It tends to be young men, aged between 15 and 22 — the pillion rider can be even younger — and as they drive around dropping off drugs they’re noticing all these “phone zombies” not paying attention to their surroundings. They snatch their gadgets and sell them to Africa or Pakistan in bulk. Each boy is carrying knives, drugs and money, so they become a target for rival gangs.’ Home Secretary Sajid Javid has vowed to ban zombie knives with his new Offensive Weapons Bill, and since October the Metropolitan Police have been employing creative tactics against moped-riding criminals, including buying slimline Scrambler bikes that can drive down narrow streets and ProSpike — a remote-controlled bed of spikes which pop up in the road to puncture the tyres of the illegal moped and motorbike riders. Under the current law, officers can be prosecuted for dangerous driving if there is an accident, leading to moped muggers removing their helmets in the belief that police won’t pursue them. But new pursuit rules, which would make suspects responsible for their own driving, are under review. Some London boroughs such as Havering on the other side of the River Thames have already changed their rules of engagement to become much more aggressive and tenacious when combatting these young criminals. In the embedded video clip below, you can see how Greater Manchester Police are now dealing with moped riding thieves / muggers / drug dealers. The Police have definitely changed tactics for the better, as you will see in the video - the known criminal scumbags did not know what hit them! What do you think? Leave a comment below, or Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment