West Ham Ward Panel AGM & Meeting 4.6.26

Yesterday evening myself and my Labour & Co‑op Councillor colleague Adjoa Kwarteng with Green Councillor Ibrahim Alom attended the meeting of the West Ham Ward Panel, alongside local residents and four officers from our Safer Neighbourhoods Team.

The session opened with the panel’s AGM, where residents re‑elected the Chair and confirmed all existing panel members for another year. Only residents can stand or vote, which keeps the panel firmly rooted in the community it represents.

The main discussion focused on crime and anti‑social behaviour across the ward. Residents raised a number of concerns, and councillors and the SNT were able to agree several areas of joint action — including issues on Council estate land and properties managed by local housing associations. We also received helpful guidance on what can be done to address a safety hazard at the Portway entrance to West Ham Park.

A recurring theme from residents and Councillors was the impact of a local betting shop which appears to attract ASB to the surrounding area. This will be followed up as part of the wider partnership work.

Councillors also asked for closer links with the West Ham Volunteer Police Cadets, and for details of plans for the annual PC Nina Mackay memorial event later this year, as well as the Remembrance Sunday service at All Saints Church. It would be excellent to see the cadets and local schools involved in these important community moments.

Overall, it was a constructive meeting with strong resident leadership and a clear shared commitment to improving safety and wellbeing across West Ham.

Lyn Brown MP Chairs Olympic Village public meeting with Residents and Police

I attended a pretty good meeting this evening in the Stratford Olympic Village with my MP, Lyn Brown, local residents and Police. I am not a local Councillor for this ward (Cllr Nate Higgins was there together with a number of Labour activists who do live in the ward) but I am Lyn's Parliamentary Agent and both as a Councillor and professionally (I work as a tenancy specialist dealing with complex ASB) I am very interested in learning more about effective Neighbourhood Policing. 

I was impressed at the range and scale of Police operations in the area. I think that I have got this right, that due in part to these operations, there has been a reduction in crime in Newham at the same time that crime in London is rising. 

The relatively new Borough Commander,Simon Crick, spoke about how the Police are not that good about communications and telling residents what they are doing and their successes. 

I totally agree and after the meeting I spoke to the local West Ham ward SNT Sargeant about arranging a similar meeting for my residents.  

Emergency Crime Scrutiny Meeting of Newham Council (5 May 2021)

The Chair of Crime Scrutiny, Councillor Daniel Lee-Phakoe, a father and local resident tells it as it is, about the recent tragic deaths of our young people in a meeting of police, senior council officers and politicians.

Full video of meeting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IWG-_VHkzc

Murder investigation launched in Manor Park

Newham Council "Sad incident in Church Street, Manor Park, on Monday evening. Man in 20s died from gun and knife wounds.

Extra police in area reassuring residents. Sympathy to those who knew victim. Call police on 101 with information about incident or any concerns. Quote CAD7566/8APR. or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111

Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz "My deepest condolences to his family today following a devastating incident last night in Manor Park, @NewhamLondon. 

Myself and the Deputy Mayor John Gray, were at the scene last night providing reassurance to local residents and those there who knew the victim".

(hat tip picture Newham Recorder).

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/apr/09/man-dies-from-knife-and-gunshot-wounds-in-east-london

"Council warns residents against workmen conning people out of thousands of pounds"

"Newham Council is warning residents against fraudsters attempting to con people out of thousands of pounds.​

The con artists pretend to be contractors working for the Council offering repairs at the victims home. They then tell the victim that specialist equipment will be needed and that the deposit will need to be covered upfront by the resident.

Two cases have been reported in the borough, one in Canning Town and the other in Stratford, with one 89-year-old woman mistakenly handing over £2,700 to the conmen.

In previous cases, the fraudsters, while dressed as workmen, have claimed they are working for a company called ‘A1 Solutions’. They have also given details of a ‘Mr Smith’ at Newham Council when questioned on their credentials, giving a false number of 020 3633 7029.

Newham councillor John Whitworth has been one of the residents targeted by the scam.

Councillor Whitworth, ward member for West Ham, said: “As someone that has been targeted by this scam, I urge other residents to be vigilant.

“Should any workmen visit your house, do not hand over your hard earned cash and please do report it to the Council.

“These men may seem convincing but they should not be trusted.”

Newham Council will always contact residents by letter first if there is any work needed to be carried out at their home. In no circumstances will the Council allow the contractor to contact residents without getting in touch first and residents should be aware of any workmen knocking on their door or calling unannounced.

The con has been reported to the police.

Councillor John Gray, Deputy Mayor and lead member for Housing Services, said: “It is disgraceful that this con artists think they can get away with this behaviour in Newham.

“The Council will always contact residents in advance if any work is required at their property, and they should under no circumstances hand any money over to workmen that knock on the door.

“Both the Council and the Police are aware of this fraudulent activity, anyone that experiences this should report it to the authorities.”

Residents should call the normal council number of 0208 430 2000 if they are suspicious and speak to a Customer Services Advisor. Anyone that falls victim of the fraud should contact the police".

- Hat tip Newham Council website, Cllr Whitworth and well done to staff to their prompt response to this report. I am not a member of the "hang 'em and flog 'em" brigade" but believe that we must protect our elders.  Such abuse, is technically "burglary", which could result in a 14 year prison sentence. I would be very content if these criminals spent 14 years behind bars for such crimes. 

Appeal by Mayor of Newham to find boy's killers

A really heartfelt plea by the Mayor for help in finding the murderers and reassurance that everything possible will be done to protect our young people in Newham.

"Mayor of Newham Rokhsana Fiaz has appealed for residents to come forward with any information that could lead to the arrest and conviction of the killer or killers of a 14-year-old boy.​

Today (Monday 4 June) is nine months to the day that Corey Junior Davis, known as CJ, died as a result of a shooting incident in Forest Gate. The Mayor’s appeal on the council’s website comes ahead of a reconstruction of his death set for BBC1’s Crimewatch Roadshow programme on Tuesday (5 June) at 11am. 

Said Mayor Fiaz: “Corey’s death horrified us all. He and others like 18-year-old student Sami Sidhom whose moving and touching funeral service I attended on Friday, were part of Newham’s bright future until they were brutally attacked and taken from us. In the case of Sami this was a result of a knife attack back in April and also in Forest Gate.

“This borough is a poorer place for the loss of both of them and the other young people who have fallen victim to senseless attacks that have occurred in our borough over the past year. I can’t begin to imagine the pain that their respective families, friends, and others who knew them, are feeling. But I can understand that these incidents are making our young people feel frightened and our communities anxious about how we can keep them safe.”

The Mayor has put tackling violence and making young people feel safe at the very heart of her plans. She said: “There have been too many young victims in Newham this past year and this has to be stopped. Too many young people have been killed or injured, and too many are scared. We will not allow it to continue. We all have a responsibility to protect our young people and keep them healthy and well.

“My decision to emphasise the importance of youth safety as part of my mayoralty isn’t a consequence of recent events. For so many of our young people, feeling unsafe has been a feature in their lives for far too long.”

In meetings Mayor Fiaz has had with young people so far, they have told her they want to be safe. They say youth services and youth clubs are important places of safety, but they fear being in streets and in parks.

Added the Mayor: “But despite everything, they say they love this borough. They embrace its diversity, its vibrancy, and its dynamism, but what they want is to be listened to. They want us as adults, be it parents, teachers, carers, neighbours, police officers, council services or community organisations, to step up and make them feel safe. That’s why I’ve pledged to involve them in making the decisions to create a safer and more engaging environment for young people to grow up in.

“In the meantime I encourage anyone who may know something about Corey’s tragic death to speak up. His killers are still out there. Contact the dedicated incident room number of 020 8345 3775 or to give information anonymously contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Let’s break down the wall of silence. We owe it to Corey and his mother who we need to help.”

Who is this thug? Manchester City Centre 3.50am Sunday 10 July

I haven't done this type of thing before on blogger but this yob is wanted by Police to "assist" them in their enquirers following the serious and unprovoked assault on the partner of a friend of mine. This could have been a murder investigation.

"Police have released a photograph of a man they want to speak to after a 28-year-old man was attacked and left with a fractured skull in Manchester City Centre. 

At around 3.50am on Sunday 10 July 2016 a 28-year-old man was seriously assaulted on Portland Street outside the Siam Orchid, Manchester City Centre.

The victim was waiting for a taxi when he was head-butted and punched, knocking him unconscious.

The attacker then fled along Sackville Street towards Bloom Street with another man.

The man was left with multiple injuries including a fractured eye socket, a bleed on the brain and a fractured skull, which he received hospital treatment for.

Police have released a photograph of a man they want to speak to.

Detective Constable Phil Bainbridge of GMP’s City of Manchester team, said: “The attacker is clearly a violent and aggressive individual who knowingly left a man in a serious condition after he had attacked him in the middle of a busy street.

“I am appealing for the man in the photograph to come forward, and anyone who recognises him to contact police as they may have vital information that could help our investigation.”

Anyone with information should contact police on 0161 856 1398 quoting 123846J/16 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

How wrong public opinion can be on key social issues

Hat tip Redbrick "A fascinating paper published yesterday by the Royal Statistical Society and King’s College London – The Power of Perception - reported on a survey undertaken by Ipsos MORI which ‘shows just how wrong public opinion can be on key social issues’.

1. Teenage pregnancy: on average, we think teenage pregnancy is 25 times higher than official estimates: we think that 15% of girls under 16 get pregnant each year, when official figures suggest it is around 0.6%.
2. Crime: 58% do not believe that crime is falling, when the Crime Survey for England and Wales shows that incidents of crime were 19% lower in 2012 than in 2006/07 and 53% lower than in 1995. 51% think violent crime is rising, when it has fallen from almost 2.5 million incidents in 2006/07 to under 2 million in 2012.
3. Job-seekers allowance: 29% of people think we spend more on JSA than pensions, when in fact we spend 15 times more on pensions (£4.9bn vs £74.2bn).
4. Benefit fraud: people estimate that 34 times more benefit money is claimed fraudulently than official estimates: the public think that £24 out of every £100 spent on benefits is claimed fraudulently, compared with official estimates of £0.70 per £100.
5. Foreign aid: 26% of people think foreign aid is one of the top 2-3 items government spends most money on, when it actually made up 1.1% of expenditure (£7.9bn) in the 2011/12 financial year. More people select this as a top item of expenditure than pensions (which cost nearly ten times as much, £74bn) and education in the UK (£51.5bn).
6. Religion: we greatly overestimate the proportion of the population who are Muslims: on average we say 24%, compared with 5% in England and Wales. And we underestimate the proportion of Christians: we estimate 34% on average, compared with the actual proportion of 59% in England and Wales.
7. Immigration and ethnicity: the public think that 31% of the population are immigrants, when the official figures are 13%. Even estimates that attempt to account for illegal immigration suggest a figure closer to 15%. There are similar misperceptions on ethnicity: the average estimate is that black and Asian people make up 30% of the population, when it is actually 11% (or 14% if we include mixed and other non-white ethnic groups).
8. Age: we think the population is much older than it actually is – the average estimate is that 36% of the population are 65+, when only 16% are.
9. Benefit bill: people are most likely to think that capping benefits at £26,000 per household will save most money from a list provided (33% pick this option), over twice the level that select raising the pension age to 66 for both men and women or stopping child benefit when someone in the household earns £50k+. In fact, capping household benefits is estimated to save £290m, compared with £5bn for raising the pension age and £1.7bn for stopping child benefit for wealthier households.
10. Voting: we underestimate the proportion of people who voted in the last general election – our average guess is 43%, when 65% actually did.