Spate of burglaries in East Dulwich

[Penguin68]

They told us they had a very good idea who was responsible for these burglaries

To make an arrest you need sufficient evidence (although recovered DNA matching would clearly be good, but you still need evidence to get a warrant to require DNA samples to be given). Police often receive intelligence which points the fingers at suspects, but without evidence which will stand up in court this isn't sufficient.

As far as the blood-stained tea towel is concerned, they would need to be able to prove whose blood it was, where the tea-towel was obtained, how the blood got onto the tea-towel and so on. You can convict on circumstantial evidence alone, but it does need to be compelling.

Overall, however, I would rather live in a society where guilt has to be proven in a court of law than in one where police suspicions were sufficient to lead to conviction. Free scumbags (some) are the price we pay to live in a free society. I have also been the victim of crime in the past, and it's still a price I think worth paying. Which doesn't mean I think they (criminals) shouldn't be banged-up, nor that police (and tax) resources shouldn't be devoted to doing so.

[DJKillaQueen]

But it is fristrating when a local community knows who is responsible for a crime/ crimes and the Police can do nothing for lack of hard evidence. Even more frustrating if the victim knows the cuprit and sees nothing can be done.

Whilst I agree absolutely agree on your points about proven beyond reasonable doubt penguin, I do also think the tide is defintely in the favour of the criminal. We need more Police surveillance, at a time when funding of the Police is being cut. There's no easy or effective answer apart from residents and homeowners ramping up their own security, but then again how far do they need to go? Recent posts on here report burglars breaking windows (which is a pretty bold and noisy method of entry). Do people really have to put bars on their windows?

[JDR]

I think we were a near miss tonight. Neighbour had reported suspicious behaviour and police and dogs attened. Potential lookout found but not the person that had lifted out a fence panel to access us via a neighbours garden.... we are Underhill Road past the cemetry towards Melford Road. It appears this is their preferred area....

[owlwise]

So sorry to hear about the burglaries you've all been experiencing. I've already suggested on other threads somewhere but will suggest it again here too. If you want to consider a monitored alarm system I can highly recommend Direct Security Alarms who are a locally based firm (Sydenham) and provide excellent customer service and very reasonable prices. I have used them for over 10 years. Call them over to give you a quote for an alarm/cctv. Having my premises alarmed gives me peace of mind and is a very good deterrent against these scumbags. I set it at night when I go to bed. If it goes off during the day the signal goes through to the monitoring centre and there's a list of keyholders who get contacted if it's a false alarm (I've never had a false alarm unless I've set it off by accident myself!) Or if the signal shows that there's forced entry the police are contacted by Direct Security (thankfully, this has never happened).

Phone: 0845 3703 999

Weblink: http://www.directsecurity.net/Contactus.html

[Kailyn]

I just moved to East Dulwich and this high criminality scared me out! I will try to keep my eyes open for any suspisious behaviour. This forum is very helpful!

[Prunella_Gatsby]

Yes crime can be scary and off putting to a particular area, but you must put things into context, Dulwich is actually classified as a low crime area,compared to other parts of London, even posher areas like Chelsea/Kensington have a higher crime level!

I would just make sure you don't give a burglar/criminal a chance, make them think twice before they commit a crime on your property by e.g burglar alarm/cctv/windows properly locked etc. - Most burglars are opportunistic.

Stay vigilant and look out for your neighbours homes and vulnerable persons in your street and you will be reciprocated in kind.

[James Barber]

Hi Kailyn,

You're much more likely normally to be burgled in the first 6 months of moving into a home.

To can drstaically reduce this by making a big effort to get to know all your neighbours. In the process they get to know you and then spot suspicious behavoiour around your home.

But as Prunella_Gatsby says. we are a low crime area for London but that is zero concilation to those who have the misfortune to become victims of crime.

[Pastaman]

James Barber Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

>

> But as Prunella_Gatsby says. we are a low crime

> area for London but that is zero consolation to

> those who have the misfortune to become victims of

> crime.

hmm...SE22 is 9th in the country for burglary insurance claims in fact, according to http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/9826026/Leeds-tops-list-of-burglary-hotspots.html and http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/article-2267769/Burglary-hotspots-London-Leeds-list-locations-home-insurance-claims-theft.html

[lance_elot]

Yes i do agree with Dulwich being low crime area, the problem is , its unfortunately surrounded by high crime areas, e.g Camberwell/Peckham/Brixton.

I've looked online and this recent chart from 2010 shows SE22 as being a better than average area crime-wise. I.e better than most parts of London. No part of London is untouched by crime, even leafy Hampstead is surrounded by high crime Camden/Chalk Farm/Gospel Oak - Kensington by high crime Earls Court/Worlds End etc.

LONDON (SE22) CRIME STATISTICS

Postcode Map Local Statistics Crime Statistics Hospitals Chemists Events

The following crime statistics for the postcode area SE22 (London) are based on official police recorded crime reports from November 2010.

Figures refer to the number of criminal offences recorded per 1000 population.

Police Service: Metropolitan Police

Criminal activity SE22 Stats National

Vehicle/car crime 0.2871 0.153 Worse than average

Violent crime 0.297 0.2989 Better than average

Burglary 0.2772 0.1976 Worse than average

Robbery 0.1089 0.0297 Worse than average

Antisocial behaviour 0.7426 1.0531 Better than average

Other crime 0.5248 0.7553 Better than average

Total crime 2.2376 2.4876 Better than average

[JohnL]

Low for violence/general crime

High for property perhaps ?

Are there more things worth stealing ?

Pastaman Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> James Barber Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

>

> >

> > But as Prunella_Gatsby says. we are a low crime

> > area for London but that is zero consolation to

> > those who have the misfortune to become victims

> of

> > crime.

>

> hmm...SE22 is 9th in the country for burglary

> insurance claims in fact, according to

> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howabou

> tthat/9826026/Leeds-tops-list-of-burglary-hotspots

> .html and

> http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/a

> rticle-2267769/Burglary-hotspots-London-Leeds-list

> -locations-home-insurance-claims-theft.html

[the-e-dealer]

And there has been a lot of Burglaries around the bottom of Barry Road skewing the Break-in Stats.

[JT76]

the latest Police stats are out - http://www.police.uk/crime/?q=London%2C+Greater+London+SE22%2C+UK#crimetypes/2013-01 it depends on where you live but within a mile radius of my address burglaries were up 50% in January on December

[Sue]

JT76 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> the latest Police stats are out -

> http://www.police.uk/crime/?q=London%2C+Greater+Lo

> ndon+SE22%2C+UK#crimetypes/2013-01 it depends on

> where you live but within a mile radius of my

> address burglaries were up 50% in January on

> December

xxxxxx

Hos does that compare month on month with the last couple of years?

I'd expect burglaries to be up in January, because burglars will be trawling for new and expensive items bought for Christmas.

[JT76]

Within a 1 mile radius from my postcode burglaries were up 6% from Dec 11 to Jan 12 versus 46% for the same period Dec 12 to Jan 13. So - a considerable uplift one mile around my property.

[Sue]

That is a big jump.

What sort of actual numbers are we talking about? Not saying they are in this case, but percentages can be misleading.

50% of 2 is 1, for example ..... but it sounds a lot if you only know the percentage.

[JT76]

For the 1 mile radius around my property it was from 66 burglaries in Dec 12 to 96 in Jan 13. it is very location dependent however, if you look at the 1 mile radius around the generic se22 postcode the dec-jan movement is not that bad. it appears to be worse towards the north of east dulwich / se22

[Clare11]

Just wanted to inform all forumites that yesterday we found two screwdrivers hidden in a bush in our garden.

They were definitely hidden out of the way near our front entrance.

Luckily my husband saw the edges and discovered them. One of them wasn't fit to be used as a screwdriver and looked like it had been used for other things as it was quite blunt.

Could be nothing, but 101 rang back for further details.

We are on Overhill Road (cemetery end) and there have been some break ins near us.

Possibly someone stashing them for a break in, or hiding them afterwards...I can't say.

Awful to think of someone putting them there for that purpose, and I just wanted to recommend everyone check their garden plants, back and front, just in case.

[the-e-dealer]

Sounds like they were used and disposed of. Might be worth getting prints off them.

[Clare11]

Police didn't think prints would be possible, but we still have them if they want to investigate further. I was really impressed with 101 and the response/interest from the police.

Considering the proximity to our front door, I think it was more likely they were being 'prepped' for something rather than disposed of. But that's all just speculation.

[lane lover]

"I'd expect burglaries to be up in January, because burglars will be trawling for new and expensive items bought for Christmas"

Agree, they will be up on December, but best to compare like for like - compare with Jan-11 for instance.

Within the 1-mile radius of my house Jan-13 burglaries were 75 v 45 in Jan-12 and 61 in Jan-11.

Dec-12 was a similar jump: 66 in 2012 v 42 in 2011 v 46 in 2010.

Clearly a recent jump in burglary - and expect the rise to be down to one gang. Hopefully they are caught soon!

[BigED]

While these monthly numbers look like they are varying a lot (61, 45, 75), the changes aren't statistically significant (though I grant you they are significant enough if they happen to you). The numbers are just too small to draw any inference. There is too much natural variation from month to month in what are still (fortunately) rare events - statistical "noise", if you like. Which is why it's only really worth looking at aggregated figures such as for a number of wards, or for ED year by year.

But for the record, there are around 5,300 residential households in East Dulwich ward, so these burglary figures (admittedly each for just one month - January - in 2011, 12, 13) are a very small proportion of the total: 1.15%, 0.85% and 1.42% respectively. The figures are also susceptible to recording decisions - if you are burgled but not insured, do you phone the police anyway? If you report a burglary, do the police always record it as such? Practice varies from force to force and even within basic command units. It's why there are often discrepancies between police recorded crime figures and the victimisation estimates produced by the Crime Survey for England & Wales.

I've not looked at commercial properties (neither does the CSEW) - some of the burglaries will presumably have been in non-residential properties so the percentages will actually be smaller as a proportion of all properties in ED ward.

Like I said, it's no comfort if it happens to you, but it's not evidence yet of a local burglary epidemic. Mind you, some additional precautions and security measures would probably help most of us.

[stephen509]

Burgled today on Underhill Road. Another one to the East Dulwich figures.

[PAULONDON]

another flat has been burgled at Underhill Road .!!! really sad !

[James Barber]

You have to be careful with te police burglary stats to ensure you're just looking at residential burglary - which I think is te thrust of this tread.

Eitherway, take sensible precautions and you dramatically reduce your chance of being burgled.

[stephen509]

Two concealed Bear traps should help future intruders.