Operation Anvil Hits Crime and Leads to Over 100 Arrests


Latest update from H&F Borough Commander Gideon Springer

Hammersmith and Fulham Borough are currently running Operation ANVIL 6 - this operation is aimed at tackling Violence with injury, Burglary, Robbery, Theft from the person and Motor Vehicle crime. This has been running for four weeks and our teams have completed 173 Stop and Search actions, generated a total of 109 arrests of which 6 were for violent offences, 12 for Burglary, 4 for Robbery, 9 for MV offences 22 for Drugs and 56 for other offences including Handling stolen goods, and those who were wanted, one wanted for a Murder.

Other officers on the Borough have been working hard to make Hammersmith and Fulham a safe place.

On Tuesday 27th September 2016 at 4pm, 3 drugs warrants were executed at 3 venues on the borough, mainly located around the North End Road area. This was following intelligence that had been generated by officers regarding increasing drug use in the area. These warrants lead to the arrest of 2 people for Immigration offences; one for Illegal Entry and one for being an Overstayer.

All officers engaged were 100% committed to the aim, and were very professional throughout, however one particular officer, PC Sohana Ahmed, has invested a huge amount of time and effort into developing the intelligence, obtaining the warrants, preparing the briefing and resourcing the operation. These 3 warrants, however, are only a small part of the work she has been involved in on the Gibbs Green,West Kensington estates, and North End Ward generally.

Her work has also resulted in the closure of three problem addresses which will impact on the local area, and her work in these areas are having a very positive impact. This will impact hugely on public confidence. It has given a very strong message to perpetrators of crime and anti-social behaviour that it will not be tolerated, and these efforts attracted a lot of interest and attention from passing members of the public.

Shepherd's Bush Green officers have been supporting staff at Sainsbury’s Local on Shepherd's Bush Green recently, with various offences and investigations that affect this store and others in the the area.

The manager of the store contacted the police to express his thanks, saying that he has noticed an increased police presence on the green over the past few weeks and as a result they have noticed fewer incidents in store. He said that they have seen officers patrolling and talking to people who tend to congregate on the benches drinking in the afternoon and evenings, and “this has seen a drop in opportunist theft and anti-social behaviour we’ve experienced in the past”.

He goes on to say that a huge element of our stock loss occurs from people who are trying their luck when we are busy and at times it feels as our store is watched from opposite on the green waiting for an opportunity. He said that he hopes that this pro-active approach continues and he looks forward to working with the police again in the future to reduce crime and antisocial behaviour.

The Shepherd's Bush Green Dedicated Ward Officer, PC Lee Somerville has stated that they have now established an ongoing working relationship with staff at the supermarket, and they are looking into providing them with additional training/crime prevention advice in the future.

On Monday 3rd October 2016, whilst out on patrol along Bloemfontein Road junction with Uxbridge Road, a man was seen acting suspiciously by three Shepherd's Bush Green officers. The man was stood trying to open the communal door into a block of flats using a fire key. Officers stopped him and spoke with him.

He stated he was a trainee fire-fighter so was practicing opening doors with a fire key and also stated that he was in the area as he was meeting a friend for a coffee at Westfield Shopping Centre. As the officers were not satisfied with the reason given by the man for using the fire key and why he was in the area, particularly as he stated he lived in Tower Hamlets, they conducted a search of the man.

During the search two bank cards were found both with different names on. The man instantly stated that cards belonged to his housemates. Also found on him were two rectangular plastic cards commonly are used for slipping door locks. The man claimed that he used these to write notes on, and he also claimed that he found the fire key randomly on the floor.  Further enquiries conducted by the officers found that one of the bank cards was taken from a burglary back in August from an address in Islington.

As a result of these enquiries, the man was arrested for two theft offences. Despite denying any wrondoing , he was charged with both offences; a fantastic example of good work by our neighbourhood policing teams on the borough.

Gideon Springer
Hammersmith & Fulham Borough Commander