Paul Martin is in charge of policing the borough
Hello and welcome to my blog
I have had a busy and exciting couple of months here as your Ealing Borough Commander, striving to make sure we inspire your confidence in our policing services and ensuring that victims of crime feel well supported.
I have been out on patrol with my response team officers and their hard work and commitment to looking after the people in Ealing always impresses me and fills me with pride. One of my patrols was particularly busy and, as all of my officers were already committed with various incidents across the borough, I found myself transporting a detainee in a police van to a nearby custody unit.
I haven't done that in a while and it was a reminder to me of how multifaceted our policing services are and how incredibly skilled my officers have to be in a whole myriad of ways. I also got involved with arresting a burglar and assisted a vulnerable individual in the midst of a mental health crisis. It was humbling to witness the compassion shown by my officers and to be reminded that they do so much more than just traditional policing.
This recent experience made my visit to the new suite at the Weston London Mental Health Trust Facility far more enlightening. Thames Lodge, the new medium secure unit, will enable more care to vulnerable people and ensure that they are provided with a modern and welcoming environment in a building that is fit for purpose. It was a pleasure to meet several of the staff and I want to thank them for the opportunity.
I also had the great pleasure of visiting Christ the Saviour Primary School and meeting some of the pupils to present them with various awards during their morning assembly. I certainly spotted some future Ealing police officers among them! Thank you to all at the school for their warm welcome and support.
We are one of the few boroughs in the MPS to have successfully involved primary schools in our volunteer police cadet scheme, an achievement we are proud of and will be continuing to develop throughout the year.
Victims are at the very heart of everything we do and so I want to ensure that this is reflected in our user surveys. During the year, a number of surveys take place across London to measure both your confidence in us and the roles we perform, as well as the satisfaction that victims of crime have in the service they receive from us. The results in these surveys are extremely important as they indicate whether our communities and residents think we are doing a good job. We have perhaps not been quite as vocal about the excellent work and results we achieve here in Ealing every month and so I want to ensure we keep you as well informed as we possibly can through our social media sites (Twitter @EalingMPS and our new Facebook page www.facebook.com/ealingpolice ) and with the help of our local news.
We are also working with the Ealing Safer Partnership to establish a better way of jointly communicating our partnership initiatives so that we can be sure that you all know exactly how much we care and do to continually make Ealing a better and safer place.
In the meantime, if you have been the victim of crime and want to discuss any aspect of the investigation further at any time, then please do make contact with my officers who will be happy to help you. We also need your help, especially to combat crime. There is a lot you can do to keep yourself and your belongings safe and secure.
We have recently experienced a rise in theft of motor vehicles, particularly involving scooters, and so my Safer Neighbourhood teams have launched Operation Titan to tackle the problem which will involve increased patrols and various enforcement tactics. In most cases, car crime is committed by opportunist offenders who often take only seconds to get inside a vehicle. So, close your windows, lock all doors and activate any security devices when leaving the vehicle even for just a moment or two.
Please also remember to check your doors manually as automatic locking devices can't always be relied upon. We are committed to combating car crime, reducing the opportunities and arresting those involved so success requires a joint effort between all of us. As the summer months bring with it some warmer weather (hopefully), we usually experience an increase in anti social behaviour.
This type of disorder can seriously affect peoples lives and the general environment of the borough. We are fortunate that Ealing is a borough where partner organisations regularly come together and work hard to solve local problems. We are always keen to hear about what matters to you and you can tell us by attending the Ward Panel meetings that are held in your local area.
Ward Panel details can be found on the MPS Ealing borough web site or by contacting your local ward police Safer Neighbourhood Team via the same web site.
And just a final mention before I say goodbye. Well done to my officers who caught a suspected burglar last night red handed stealing lap tops. Top work! Thank you and take care everyone.
Chief Superintendent Ealing
22nd June 1016