Monday, November 27, 2006

Spate of Burglaries on Victoria Dock

In the past few weeks we have had an increase in reported burglaries and break-ins on Victoria Dock.

I understand from the Local Police Team that the gang responsible have been operating on the Dock mostly between 8.30am and 10am.

Is is suspected the thieves have been watching properties for residents going to work, checking that there is no one in by knocking on doors then breaking into properties.

Residents need to take extra precautions when leaving their properties and to watch for any unusual activity.

The Local Police Team are actively trying to apprehend the culprits responsible but they do need help and information to tackle the crime.

The Riverside Neighbourhood Policing Team can be contacted during office hours on Te. 220178.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cllr Wareing,

I've recieved your letter yesterday concerning this. You state that you have asked the police to install CCTV on the Dock. Have you really only just realised that this is an issue?! We've been asking for CCTV on the Dock for years and what have you ever done about it?!

TB, Vicky Dock

Gary Wareing said...

First of all I must point out that I have been a resident on Victoria Dock for some years. The original locations for CCTV cameras was decided based on the level of crime and was suggested by the police. The Lib Dems were in charge of the council at the time. They then decided to cancel the scheme due to their hatred of CCTV.When Labour came back into power the CCTV system was re-instigated. If the Lib Dems had stayed in power the city would not have a system at all. Due to the Lib Dems cancelling the system and Labour restarting it the pressure was to secure the government grant and get the system in. The locations of the cameras were then left as it was planned. It is very clear that residents on Victoria Dock including myself would like to see better coverage of the system. No new cameras have been added to the system since its introduction. There are now two options allocate funding for increasing the coverage of the system or move cameras from another location onto Victoria Dock.