Havering Council and the Havering Community Safety Partnership hosted the second crime summit under the Where We Live campaign last week.
Around 80 people attended the event, held at the Lumiere Cinema, Romford on Monday (10 November).
The summit brought together key partners and local communities to discuss tackling crime and increasing the feeling of safety across communities in the borough.
The Havering Community Safety Partnership is made up of Havering Council, Metropolitan Police, London Fire and Planning Authority, NHS and the National Probation Service.
Havering’s community safety team, along with an officer from the council-funded Havering Joint Task Force (S92s) delivered presentations outlining the priorities within the partnership plan.
This was followed by a panel discussion where questions from the audience were addressed by Andrew Blake Herbert, Chief Executive of Havering Council and Chair of the Havering Community Safety Partnership;
Plus Councillor Ray Morgon, Leader of the Council; Charlie Routley, Acting Chief Inspector, East Area BCU and Superintendent Sharon Brind, East Area BCU.
Headlines from the event
- Crime is down: Havering saw a 4.6 per cent drop in total reported crimes compared to 2023.
- One of the safest: Havering remains one of the safest boroughs in London.
- Feeling safer: Feedback was shared from the annual residents’ survey that ran earlier this year - revealing 49 percent of residents feel fairly or very safe - an increase of 17 per cent from 2024 and while 35 per cent still feel unsafe, this was a decrease of 14 per cent from 2024.
The Partnership also outlined main priorities ahead, which include:
- Reducing violence
- Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG)
- Reducing re-offending
- Tackling anti-social behaviour
- Tackling theft, burglary, robbery, vehicle crime, fraud, shoplifting
- Improving feelings of safety and public confidence.
Before the summit, community partners and local organisations set up information and advice stalls, sharing crime prevention resources with attendees.
Among them was the My Ends Partnership, well known for running a wide range of youth activities that bring positive opportunities to young people across the borough.
Councillor Ray Morgon, Leader of Havering Council, said:
“It was good to see so many people at the summit and for us all to discuss with everyone, the work that is being carried out on a daily basis to help make our borough a safer place to be.
“Under our Where We Live campaign, this is the second summit we have held this year as we want to reassure our residents that work is being done to tackle the issues that concern them and let them know of the actions that are helping towards preventing crime.
“The summit also gave us the chance to hear first-hand from many people about what they are worried about and to tell them how we can look to work with them and communities to resolve these, including anti-social behaviour and the fear of crime.
“The Partnership also acknowledges that despite the good work and Havering being one of the safest boroughs in London, the fear of crime by residents in the borough is still high.
“We and everyone in the partnership will continue to work with communities to help towards reducing that fear.”
Superintendent Sharon Brind, Neighbourhood Policing for Havering, said:
“As the new Neighbourhood Superintendent for Havering it was great to be a part of the conversation with partners and community at the Havering Council Crime Summit with a joint aim to create a safe place where residents can live, people visit and go to work.
“Our neighbourhood officers are working extremely hard to build trust and confidence within their wards and target known offenders to make Havering a safe community.
“The Havering Joint Taskforce having made over 1,000 arrests with an 80 per cent positive outcome at court, is just one example of the results achieved by our committed officers.
“By working with the local community and key partners, my aim is to strengthen our partnership work to collectively identify, investigate and solve local crimes and tackle anti-social behaviour and address local concerns.
“You can help by reporting crime or suspicious behaviour, so we can put our resources in those areas that need us the most.
"You can also help to shape policing in your area by joining your local Ward Panel which meets regularly.”