Meet the police
Inspector Andy Carter has been a police officer since 1993. He worked in both uniform and plain clothes in south London then in Westminster, including spells on duty on Oxford Street. He came to North Kensington in 2004 to help set up the Safer Neighbourhoods strategy and has been the Sector Inspector for North Kensington, which includes Golborne, since August last year.‘The most obvious change that Safer Neighbourhoods initiative has brought to Golborne has been the introduction of Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs),’ says Andy. ‘Since they arrived in Golborne in early 2005, they have been a visible presence on the streets to deter crime as well as a very important link between the community and the police.
‘The PCSOs have had the time to engage with their community and to address what I call the reassurance gap. Although crime rates have actually been falling in Golborne, some people still feel intimidated by the threat of crime. The PCSO’s have been able to devote time to making people feel safer in their own neighbourhood.
‘Our approach to crime combines solving short-term problems with long-term strategies. This means a problem-solving approach which involves looking at victims, offenders and locations and finding ways to stop problems altogether. We work closely with other agencies, including the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the local housing associations and TMO to address problems like anti-social behaviour.
‘It’s very important to us that the work we do is actually a response to what the community wants. To do this, we have a group of 200 key individuals in Golborne whose views we elicit through questionnaires.
‘We also have a Ward Panel which meets regularly and gives local people the opportunity to tell us what problems they think we should be prioritising. We’re always interested in recruiting more local people to the Ward Panel, which meets approximately every six weeks. If anyone reading this would like to get involved, please get in touch. [Details below.]
‘Some of the operations that have been a direct result of views expressed by the Ward Panel have included working with the RSPCA to control dangerous dogs in the area, tackling anti-social behaviour on the streets and working to eliminate the nuisance caused by street drinking. With street drinking, we have not only been moving people on and enforcing a street drinking ban but also helping individuals involved to get into treatment.
‘Other priorities we are working on now include the theft of scooters and mopeds and thefts from cars – especially of satellite navigation devices. Make sure you remove your satnav from your car and don’t leave the rubber sucker on the dashboard – that’s a complete give-away!
‘Obviously, Carnival is coming up as well and that’s a busy time of year for us. Our aim is to make sure that the Carnival is as safe as it can be. In the run-up to the event, we’ll be targeting criminals that we believe will be likely to cause trouble at the Carnival, as we have done successfully in previous years.
‘This area, which must be one of the most diverse in London, is a great place to work and I’ve been thoroughly impressed by the support we’ve had from people in Golborne in making the neighbourhood a safer place to live and work. We’re always ready to listen to what local people have to say and to do our best to respond to it.’
Find out more about joining the Ward Panel by calling Sergeant Orlando Jeffrey on 020 8721 3011 or emailing him
In an emergency, you should always dial 999. To report low level crime, you can use the contact details above.
More information about the police in Golborne is here
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