Fighting Crime Locally

Chris Grayling MP, Shadow Home Secretary, visited the Borough on Wednesday 25th March to look at crime locally in Chiswick, Brentford, Isleworth, Osterley and Hounslow.

Chris began his visit by being part of a panel in Chiswick Town Hall at a public meeting that was open to all residents to look at ways of reducing crime in the local community. Superintendent Phipps from the Metropolitan Police, Cllr John Todd and Margaret Bourne from Victim Support also joined us on the panel.

Superintendent Phipps gave an excellent overview of crime locally and described the complexities of policing in the Hounslow Borough with 140 languages, between 212-260,000 people living in the area and with half of those arrested for petty crimes, testing positive for drugs. Progress had been made though with surveillance on gateways into high-risk burglary areas, following suspect vehicles and removing Class A drug dealers from the area.

Cllr John Todd highlighted the initiatives that the Council have undertaken in relation to reducing crime, including increasing CCTV cameras in underpasses, organising a leadership course for young people who have been in trouble and creating drink free zones.

Chris highlighted four areas which he saw as a priority:
1. zero tolerance on low level criminality such as broken wing mirrors, anti-social behavior and graffiti before it leads to more serious crimes
2. ending the caution culture that has developed to save police paperwork and achieve targets
3. reviewing the licensing laws
4. reducing the amount of paperwork that the police have to deal with.

Chris and I then went on a tour of the Borough with the Drugs Squad to see the impact of drugs locally and to hear what the police were doing to identify those involved in selling drugs and the challenges they had to deal with to ensure a conviction.

We really need to deal with burglaries, vehicle crime and drug-related crime to make sure we all are safe at home, at work, on the street and in the community. Drugs are having a detrimental impact on the lives of local residents and this issue needs to be dealt with.

Photo: Mary with Chris Grayling MP and Superintendent Phipps

Chiswick pensioners - not alone at Christmas

On Christmas Day, I went along to the 'Pensioners Alone at Christmas' lunch in Chiswick with Cllr John Todd and Cllr Gerald McGregor.

It was a superb event and wonderfully organised by Pauline Hart. Pauline (who has been doing this for over twenty years) and her team of volunteers collect pensioners in the morning from around the Chiswick area and then give them a fabulous Christmas dinner in the Bridge Street Chiswick Day Care Centre.

The pensioners, who otherwise would have spent the day alone, were thrilled to have a Christmas lunch organised for them and to get together with others to have a fun afternoon.

Congratulations to Pauline and the volunteers for yet again making the day really special for so many.

Photo: Mary and Cllr John Todd with some of the pensioners attending the lunch

A Community Weekend

There was a party atmosphere in Chiswick this weekend with lots of community events, including:

- Bedford Park Festival
- Sutton Court Residents Open Gardens
- St Michael's fundraiser on Elmwood Road
- the Chiswick House Kitchen Garden Open Day.

The sun was shining and there was a great atmposphere at all the events. Lots of work by local people had gone into making them a huge success.

What made these events special, was that they were all community initiatives. Individuals had taken the initiative on a voluntary basis and had made a real commitment to make a difference locally. This was community spirit in action ... and greatly enjoyed by all who participated.

Well done to everyone involved. We need more people like you!

Photo: Mary with Cllr John Todd and Cllr Gerald McGregor at the Bedford Park Festival in Chiswick - Cllr Paul Lynch was there too but lost him in the midst of all the stands! Thanks to Margaret Chadderton for taking the photo.

Back Boris at the Boat Race

Despite the wind and rain, all seemed to enjoy the Oxford & Cambridge Boat Race today along the Thames. We started with a team drink at the George & Devonshire pub at the Hogarth roundabout and ended with a well-needed cup of team at Chiswick Pier!

There was a great atmosphere as hundreds of people turned out to watch Oxford win comfortably over last year's winner. Due to the weather, it was the slowest race for 61 years.

Londoners joined in the fun and enthusiastically took our Back Boris balloons from the team in the photo!

The tide has turned and it is now time for change in London. Lets all 'Back Boris' and show how much London means to us.

Photo (from left to right): Alexandra & Gabriella Giles, David Giles, Charles Tannock MEP, Andrew Craig, Fiona, Mary Macleod, Jonathan and Harriett Baldwin and James Collins. Cllr John Todd and Cllr Barbara Reid were still in the pub!