New Update from Borough Commander


Lucy D'Orsi says police will continue to arrest outstanding offenders

Borough Commander Lucy D'Orsi has been issuing daily updates following the disorder which reached the streets of Hammersmith and Fulham last week. Here are her latest messages:

Monday August 15

We had a busy weekend but I am glad to say that that all went well. I visited Fulham FC and there was been a good police and steward presence. This was also the case at QPR FC and at the cycle race. I am delighted that we did not have to cancel any of these events as to have done so would have had a significant impact on local business.

We are continuing to have a visible presence on the streets utilising Special, Safer Neighbourhood Officers, Detectives and Community Support Officers. However, we clearly will not have the same volume of officers on duty as we did earlier in the week but will have sufficient to keep the Borough safe. As I am sure you appreciate officers require time off and the threat at this stage is greatly reduced. We will continue to arrest outstanding offenders and we are maximising the additional officers to complete some warrants.

Notting Hill Carnival planning is ongoing and we have developed a local policing plan to support policing in those areas peripheral to the carnival. Any information or intelligence is always much appreciated.

Your support over the last week has been incredible, thank you. We will keep you advised of any developments throughout the month but not on a daily basis unless circumstances dictate. No news is always good news.

London Wide

  • 16,00 Officers were on duty across London over the weekend.
  • 1580 arrests to date.
  • 923 people have been charged.

A number of you have contacted me regarding becoming volunteers over the last week. I thought this link might be of interest.

What can you do?
You can also help us by assisting in the identification of people that have been looting, rioting and committing crime.

Anyone with information should call our incident room on 020 8345 4142. Alternatively you can call the Crimestoppers charity anonymously on 0800 555 111.

We are also publishing images of people wanted in connection with looting. Follow the link below to see if you recognise any of the people we wish to speak to:

Police photos

It remains my intention to ensure that we work with you and the Local Authority to keep local communities safe.

Friday August 12

There were extra patrols again on the streets of Hammersmith and Fulham yesterday in risk areas and where intelligence suggested we would maximise presence and impact.. We also used the additional resources to complete a few drugs warrants and to track down and arrest some outstanding suspects. I am also delighted to say that owing to the enhanced policing presence we were able to arrest several burglars yesterday in the act. I would like to say that the public played a key role in the arrest of the burglars. It is clear that you are all very keen to report suspicious activity and as a result an early call to police led to a quick deployment which led to the arrest. Its supports my view that communities are critical to helping us catch and convict criminals. Thank you.

Many of you have also been informing us of drug activity this week in your neighbourhoods. Can I encourage you to continue to do so. I have an enormous amount of officers on duty so where we can we will act.

I attended two community meetings yesterday and again received great feedback from those in attendance. It is clear that the increased policing presence has reassured you to continue with your daily business/activities. I was delighted to hear that as that is what my officers, volunteers and police staff have been working hard to achieve. We want you to be out and about.

Going forward a number of residents have expressed a desire to work with Police, the Local Authority and established community groups to capitalise on driving forward a collaborative approach to make communities safe, that feeling of citizen responsibility and citizen led solutions. This is fantastic.

Today I attended the memorial service this morning to the 3 officers who were shot dead in Braybrook Street in 1966. I found it to be very thought provoking when I was speaking with their family. 45years ago officers were working hard to keep the Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham safe and that is exactly what we are continuing to do today.

I continue to receive great comments from you all and your support has been much appreciated by my officers. Your messages are up on our notice boards for staff to read. If anyone has design skills who could help me to make better displays I would really appreciate it.

We will continue to have a strong presence across Hammersmith and Fulham today and throughout the weekend. Both Fulham and QPR football matches will take place. I am keen to ensure 'business as usual'. I hope people are sensible when attending and support our drive to keep the Borough safe. I have enough officers to deal with anyone who tries to disrupt any events and we will be proactivitve in arresting anyone intent on engaging in criminality.

My leadership Team will continue to ensure that officers are in the right place at the right time to have maximum effect. Please continue to chat to my officers, they really appreciate it.

Thursday August 11

We put an enormous amount of extra patrols on the streets of Hammersmith and Fulham yesterday in risk areas and where intelligence suggested we would maximise presence and impact. We were again supported by a number of Specials who came in in their own time to support us and also by some of our police volunteers.

I really appreciate this as it frees up regular officers to be deployed in key areas on the Borough. We had a blend of uniform police officers and Detectives out proactively policing the Borough. We were also joined by officers from South Wales who some of you may have seen in the Shepherds Bush Area. Today we are supported by officers from Hampshire.

I was on patrol across the Borough yesterday and I felt that yet again we had a strong police presence across the borough well into the night. I hope you felt the same. There was also definitely a sense of business as usual amongst the community which I was pleased to see.

Last night we also arrested a number of people who were wanted for outstanding crime matterson the Borough. Some remain in custody with others being charged to court this morning. We are continuing today to track down individuals who are wanted by police and/or the courts.

I remain a supporter of social media so I am pleased to say that the pan London social media misinformation and false statements is reducing. Thank you to those of you who have helped with this and also to those of you who have been posting positive comments.

I continue to receive great comments from you all and your support has been much appreciated by my officers, some who have worked excessive hours under difficult circumstances in other parts of London.

We will continue to have a strong presence across Hammersmith and Fulham today and into this evening. We will ensure that officers are in the right place at the right time to have maximum effect. Many of you spoke to my officers yesterday, they appreciated it so I would encourage you to continue to do so.

Officers and Police Staff are proud of their achievements in ensuring your safety in Hammersmith and Fulham since disorder started last Saturday elsewhere. I am very proud of their commitment and achievements as I know that for many it has been a challenge to balance professional duties against family commitments.

Wednesday August 10

Yesterday we put an enormous amount of extra patrols on the streets of Hammersmith and Fulham. To name but a few this included Community Support Officers, Safer Transport Officers and officers from the CID, Crime Squad, Drug Squad, Intelligence Unit, Football Officers etc etc.
We were also supported by a number of Specials who came in in their own time to support us and I would like to publicly thank them for their support. You will probably have seen officers in plain clothes with hi-visibility baseball caps these are your Borough Detectives.

The police presence on the streets of Hammersmith and Fulham yesterday was very impressive. Several groups came into the Borough but were immediately stopped with many also being searched. I am also pleased to say that we charged 10 individuals last night with violent disorder and some other with other offences from Monday. They will be before the courts this morning.

I would like to use this opportunity to raise a note of caution around some of the social media that is circulating at the moment. There is some information being put out by people which is untrue and unhelpful. I have been shocked by how wide this information circulates and I cannot understand why people find it necessary to put out such factually incorrect information that will achieve nothing except make local communities fearful. Please can you use your influence to try and bring this under control locally.

Myself and Lyn Carpenter, who is a Director from the Local Authority, met with a number of people from a variety of Businesses across the Borough yesterday. We gave out a handy sheet around how to make premises safe. I have attached it to this message. I also met with some members of the community yesterday who gave me a good understanding of local feeling. Can I also say a huge thank you to those of you have written in with your support and comments it has been overwhelming and a very humbling experience. I am providing this feedback to my officers. The feedback has been really useful in framing the policing plan for the Borough.

We will continue to have a strong presence across Hammersmith and Fulham today and into this evening. We will ensure that officers are in the right place at the right time to have maximum effect. You will see local community officers on patrols please talk with them and let them know of your concerns and feelings.

Like you, I remain proud of my officers and staff. Their commitment has been tremendous. Your local officers feel passionate about Hammersmith and Fulham and want to maintain your safety and ensure that the Borough remains a great place to live, work and socialise.

Tuesday August 9

I know a lot of you have been concerned about the level of disorder in London and how this is impacting on Hammersmith and Fulham.

As Borough Commander for Hammersmith and Fulham I would like to reassure you that we have plans in place to deal with any disorder robustly. I am personally over seeing the borough response to deal with any local disorder as well as providing support to other areas of London which have been more effected by recent events.

Sporadic incidents took place overnight which were dealt with quickly by our officers and decisive action prevented disorder spreading. We made a number of arrests for breach of the peace, violent disorder and burglary.

I am saddened to see people intent on damaging their own communities with mindless violence and criminality. We will not tolerate mindless criminality. We have plans and resources in place to tackle any further disorder, deal with normal policing and continue to work closely with our communities to asses the impact of the disorder.

It is my intention to ensure that we keep our local community safe through visible and firm policing and by working closely with the Local Authority and Business Partners.

You will see an increase in uniformed officers and community support officers in the coming days.

I am enormously proud of my officers who have worked long hours in unprecedented conditions to keep the borough safe.

August 15, 2011