Flora Fauna Roxy Conway NHW Meeting

In the image above you can see Wilson Chowdhry of the Green Party, Jesse Boucher (Liberal Party), the Deputy Coordinator and Coordinator of the new FFRC NHW and Isla Martin from the Green Party.

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It was disappointing that only 5 residents turned up of for the meeting (two are not in the picture), however, this is not unusual for new Neighbourhood Watches. Generally it takes determination and successes to grow community groups of this type and I have great belief that the candidates selected as Coordinator and deputy for the group, are of the right calibre and quality, to make this group successful.

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The Police had informed us they could not attend the meeting, however they expressed great interest in attending a future meeting. The exemplary Phil Walby from the antisocial behaviour team apologised that he would not be able to make it due to being off sick for 3 days. He had the courtesy to call when at home and poorly on the day of the event and it is rare for him to miss NHW meetings, that I invite him to attend. Those missed by him are always based on valid reasoning. He has declared an interest in attending the next meeting of this group.

Issues raised on the day included:

• The rise in Burglary in the area - at least 7 houses have been burgled on the streets within the watch over a 1 year period. This has made residents worried about becoming the next victim. It was felt that a group such as NHW would keep people aware of burglary trends that would reciprocally increase vigilance. It was also felt that a regular newsletter and watch meetings would keep people informed of crime prevention devices, deterrents and processes that could secure their homes.
• Antisocial Behaviour - a group of youths have been conglomerating around the corner of Roxy Avenue and Chadwell Heath Lane. The youths are intimidating due to their number and have exhibited antisocial tendencies such as bullying, taunting and noise pollution in the area. Wilson informed residents this had been previously logged with the police after a Chadwell Heath Action Group Meeting including antisocial behaviour from within flats just before the off licence at the top of Roxy Avenue - before Chadwell Heath Lane. Wilson agreed to obtain a report form the Police and ASBO Team
• Underage liquor sales- Residents queried whether underage drinking was fuelled by ease of sale at the Roxy Off Licence. This item had been raised at a previous CHAG meeting and Wilson has asked for data on the proposed exercise. If there is no data Wilson has asked for an operation to be scheduled.
• Vehicle theft - a vehicle was stolen from a residents drive after a key was pilfered from the residents house via either a fishing rod or magnetised pole. This residents was particularly worried about the potential for the crime to affect other residents. With this in mind we urge residents to place their keys in a key box or away from their front foyer to prevent similar demoralising crime.
• Arson Attack- It seems like arson is rife throughout our ward (Chadwell Allotments the worst hit area). A dumped or stolen car on Conway Crescent caused a real fright to the local community when it erupted in flames after a loud bang. The crime was reported in the Ilford recorder - yet disappointingly no residents came form the road to enlighten us any more. Wilson is to ask the Chadwell SNT about whether the culprits were caught or if similar incidents had occured in the ward.
• Crime prevention devices and signage- All the visitors agreed that signage and crime prevention devices such as UV property label pens, blue badge prevention devices, panic alarms etc -would provide a tangible benefit to residents and stimulate an interest in the Group. Wilson informed the group that he had secured a grant of £9650 for the "Redbridge Neighbourhood Watch Association" (RNWA), from the Home Office for the roll-out of a boroughwide "No Bogus Callers Zone" Scheme. 50% of the budget is for marketing of the group which could include promo gifts for NHW's such as the items suggested. On Monday at an regular RNWA meeting it was agreed to fund such items - hooray! Wilson will inform Chadwell Coordinators of this success shortly.
• Wilson provided gifts in the form of sturdy green waste collection bags provided by the General Cleansing team. There are only a few left for distribution by the Council and Wilson warned that a spate of theft of these bags could ensue as they are much envied. On this jest the meeting was brought to a close.

The meeting was a real success as even though small in number we achieved and agreed a lot of items. I even placed a friendly arm around the surprised Jesse Boucher. Without detriment I add that I have read his blog and recognise his disappointment in the low number of attendees and the late cancellation by the ASBO Team. However, I request that he and other residents give the group a try, as the Sargent for the local Police Team is very interested in attending the next meeting and a platform for better local crime awareness and community integration is in the making.