credit where it is due; thank you

[annabel42]

My next door neighbour's maisonette was burgled in the early hours of last Saturday morning. The thief took her handbag and laptop from a table downstairs while she was asleep upstairs. The burglary may have been facilitated by the fact that the exterior light was not working, despite several requests to Southwark Council to get this repaired, so it would not have been difficult for the thief to gain entry (through the front door) unseen.

I contacted Renata Hamvas over the weekend; she responded very promptly and on Wednesday the light was working again. Apparently the Council were awaiting a new fitting, for which they had placed an order. However, the Council discovered on Wednesday that it had, in fact, received the new fitting. Had Renata not intervened, we would still no doubt be without light and inviting further burglaries. So,a big thank you to Renata, who achieved a result for us within one working day.

On a positive note regarding the burglary, the police had apprehended the thief, who had committed three or four other burglaries during the course of the night/early morning in question, and recovered the laptop and items stolen from the handbag (the thief had disposed of the handbag itself close by - it was found by a neighbour) even before my next door neighbour reported the theft at about 9 am, although this was either not known or not disclosed at the time.

My next door neighbour has had her laptop, her handbag and the items taken from her handbag returned to her and the last I heard was that the thief was in custody. So all credit to the police, who also came to my door, and, I think probably to others, to check on our safety, warn about locking doors and windows etc and of course to ask if anyone had heard or seen anything.

After all the criticism the police come in for, it is good to be able to post something positive.

[lane lover]

Great post.

People need to also remember the budget cuts that are hitting the public sector, and that the police are stretched more than ever at the moment.

A great outcome, and hopefully more thieves are caught as a result of the good work by police and vigilant locals.