Update

From Inspector Dornan, 28 Oct
People - I write in the hope that the decrease in email activity I've noticed recently has been matched by a corresponding decrease in anti-social behaviour. We've been putting in a fair bit of effort recently. I now need to know if there has been any real impact from your point of view, or whether fatigue has set in and things are just not being passed on. We will not simply disappear if things have improved - but do need to plan now for the next evolution.
I'd really appreciate your views on this point.
Alastair Dornan
Inspector, Coldharbour Ward
Brixton Police Station

Three responses:
1) Thanks for the email. My perception (XX Mervan Road) is that there has been a decrease in crack related activity, which is a very good thing. The situation was unbelievably bad for a couple of weeks and quite unacceptable. To be clear, I would not describe crack related activity as anti-social behaviour but as a specific criminal issue. A neighbour told me he hadn't seen anything like it in 20 years. I've lived here for 12 years and completely agree with him. So your efforts have been successful, for which thank you. I am glad to hear that you are not planning to disappear, but a little concerned about your proposed 'evolution'. Things seem to be working ok at the moment, but my question is where has the crack activity moved to, for it has surely gone somewhere. Do you know where they are now? I would have thought that you need to maintain a vigilant watch/uniformed presence in the area to ensure we do not slip back to where we were.
2) I would second that. Please maintain vigilance in our area otherwise they will return. It is a great relief not to be scared and intimidated every night as I come home. I'm sure we'd all agree and thank you for your efforts, however request that you don't allow them to come back.
3) I am in Mervan Road and at my end of the road I have seen an Improvement. However I am only representing myself.

From Tessa Jowell MP on 25 Oct:
“Rachel Heywood, your local Councillor has told me about the misery that local residents have been suffering due to crime and anti-social behaviour in your area. So I recently took the opportunity to raise the concerns of local residents with the new Police Borough Commander for Lambeth, Nick Ephgrave. I emphasised that, although the police had taken some immediate action, longer term solutions were needed such as expanding your local Safer Neighbourhood Team so that it could operate day and night. It is not right that the vibrancy of Brixton is continually blighted through crime and anti-social behaviour and I will do my utmost to help tackle the serious problems that you face.”
Note: constituency boundaries will change at the next General Election. Coldharbour Ward will be included in Tessa Jowell’s constituency of Dulwich and West Norwood.

GLA member Val Shawcross asked a question of the Mayor:
Large scale and open drug dealing In Brixton
Question No: 2728 / 2009 by Valerie Shawcross
Residents in Coldharbour Brixton are complaining of intense problems caused by a sudden growth of numbers of drug dealers and drug users operating openly in their streets. Great fear and misery is being caused by the flood of drug dealers in the area around Saltoun, Mervan and Kellett Roads. What is the MPS, whose tiller you control, going to do about this?
Answer from the Mayor:
I have been advised by the MPS that successful activity to tackle drug dealing closer to Brixton Town Centre has unfortunately caused some displacement of the problem to the area around Saltoun, Mervan and Kellett Roads. Lambeth Police recognise this as an important issue causing significant local public concern and have conducted a significant number of additional patrols and covert activity to reduce drug dealing and criminal activity. The police are also working with the council and other partners to resolve the underlying causes and deliver long-term multi-agency problem solving to this issue both in this immediate area and across Brixton and I will provide further information once available.”

This from Val Shawcross on 23 Sep:
I am due to meet the Borough Commander and will certainly raise this issue. I appreciate what a terrible impact it has on residents peace and security in their own home and neighbourhood. Since the Mayor will be coming to answer questions at People's Question Time in Brixton on Monday 9th November at 7pm (Brixton Academy) I think we should encourage people to get tickets from
[email protected] - The Mayor should be enlightened about the problems here and questioned about what resources the Met is committing to tackling this problem - Residents can ask the Mayor for help to resolve this persistent blight on Brixton

Here is a note from a neighbour on the meeting held at the Town Hall on 5 Oct:
Sorry for the delay in replying. I asked a friend who had also been there to have a look in case I had missed anything. Unfortunately I did not take any notes so the following is just from memory so you may want to ask someone else to add/ edit them.
Both the Council and the Police outlined various initiatives to try to tackle the drug use/trading in the area. The police talked about their recent campaign of having a large presence patrolling the area as a priority focus which had resulted in a rapid decrease in activity. However, they stressed that this was due to the intelligence gathering by the drug dealers who would have been aware of their planned presence or whose scouts would have spotted them. They also said that it was not possible to maintain that level of patrolling on a regular basis given the man power and the area covered by central Brixton.
In answer to questions they agreed to ensure that two areas were included in future patrols - one was a block of flats in Mervan Road (?) where the resident mentioned that drug dealers/ users met outside the lower basement flats which were slightly obscured from the road. The other place was a block of flats set in a cul de sac - I am sorry I dont remember which road it was in.
The Police also denied that there was or had ever been a policy of toleration towards drugs use in Brixton, but they did recognise the point that they need to do more to counter the widely held perception by both people living in Brixton and visitors that this was the case.
The Council person who is responsible for the work on Windrush Square was not able to make the meeting and Rachel Heywood would try to arrange another meeting at which security concerns about the square could be discussed.
I am sorry I dont have a record of the name of the man from the Council who spoke about Clean-up activities. He mentioned that our area was due for one last friday and suggested that we might like to have a community clean-up day. He also said that the Council recognised the problems people were experiencing with defecation, drug equipment outside their properties etc and that the Council could be contacted to clean up such incidences.
There was also a discussion about establishing a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme which the Police explained brings benefits. There was enough support for the idea for it to be brought as an idea to the next meeting. I think I am right in remembering that it means that the Police give extra priority to areas with the scheme and I think it brings them so additional funding.

And here is a another note from a neighbour on that meeting held at the Town Hall on 5 Oct:
I was at the meeting last night, and asked to sit at the front representing Effra Residents. My main aim was to get the police to commit to a continuous uniformed presence so the problem didn't just return. I think this is the only thing worth pushing for. There was some discussion of setting up a neighbourhood watch but i think this is a bit of a sidetrack. we already all watch out for each other pretty well and the scale of the problem was far beyond anything a neighbourhood watch can do. Discussions of issuing a few asbos and 'naming and shaming' crack addicts are beside the point. Until we have an ongoing presence it will remain a focus for crack. It doesn't have to be on the level that it was last week but we can't just return to the previous low level. the other point i made is that we, ie ERG, warned about exactly this when plans for the square were mooted: that it would push the drug problem in brixton out of the centre into residential areas which is exactly what happened. god knows where they are now.
There are wider strategic issues, which came up last night, re. reducing the image of Brixton as a drugs centre but that is a long term thing. someone i walked back with, who's lived on Dalberg for 20 years said this period was the worst he'd ever known it. i completely agree and again emphasise only an active police presence can sort it out. The worry is that in the short term we risk returning to where we were two weeks ago. A neighbour at No. XX said there was crack activity between 3 - 4 am.

This may be of interest. There is now a “Policing Pledge”, proclaimed by the Prime Minister and then Home Secretary Jacqui Smith last year. Some quotes from the Pledge, as promulgated by the Home Office:
“Each ward has a dedicated Safer Neighbourhoods team that will provide a visible police presence and will only work elsewhere if absolutely necessary. They will spend at least 80% of their time visibly working in your neighbourhood, tackling your local policing priorities.”
“They will spend at least 80% of their time visibly working in your neighbourhood, and there will be patrols in your area at times and places where they will be most effective and when you tell us you most need them.”
http://policingpledge.direct.gov.uk/index.html
http://www.met.police.uk/pledge/
