Clapton Pond Blog

Shaquille Smith Murder: Arrest Made

It's a Clapton teenager. More here.

Two Fingered Gesture

Read to the end...

The Crime Scene

A survey of teenagers, some of them from Hackney, for BBC London reveals a lot of anxiety about knife crime and not a lot of confidence that Mayor Johnson or the government can make much difference. Meanwhile, scenes such as this one in Homerton High Street - captured by passing local freelance photographer Ben Broomfield, to whom thanks - have become depressingly familiar. Forgive statement of the obvious...

David Nowak Murder

You'll remember this terrible event from last December. Twelve arrests have now been made.

Sad But True...

Graeme Archer:

"There are a couple of recurrent social problems in our part of the borough: one is an inadequate provision for the (relatively) high proportion of residents who suffer from mental-health problems, and who congregate at the park end of the street to self-medicate with alcohol; the other is the large gangs of teenage youths, who gather in clusters, in shop doorways and in the park, to hang out, often blamelessly, but also to vandalise cars, shout at passers-by, and smoke marijuana.

These are not 'urban myths' and I’m not making a political point: I just want to set the scene. My heart flickers with fear, when I’m walking home from the Lido, and have to pass a gang of noisy teenagers, inhabiting, owning, the intersections of the park’s paths. You learn to avoid eye contact: with the mentally-ill, this is a cause for shame. With the aggressive youth, it is a tactic for self-preservation."

Brace yourself, then read on.

Operation Blunt 2

From Hackney Police, a press release:

Officers from Hackney Borough Police have seized nearly 60 dangerous and offensive weapons in the first four weeks of Operation Blunt2 - the Metropolitan Police’s initiative to tackle serious youth violence across London. Since the start of the operation 28 individuals have been charged with knife-related crimes, including possession of an offensive weapon, which carries a maximum sentence of four years’ imprisonment. Several incidents are under investigation, with individuals currently on police bail.

Gallow's Humour Dept

And you thought journalists were bad.

The Cricketers Pub

From the Clapton Pond Neighbourhood Action Group on behalf of Cllr Rathbone:

"As you may be aware if you attended the last CPNAG meeting, some of our members have expressed concerns about The Cricketers pub, which is at the junction of Clarence Road and Downs Road. Since the closure of the Palace Pavillion and Fountain venues on Lower Clapton Road, we are concerned that The Cricketers has become a new focal point for drug dealing in the area, and that this has seen an increase of violent incidents and antisocial behaviour at the venue. There have been a number of violent incidents at the venue and since our last meeting two people have been hospitalised following a fight between customers in which glass bottles were used as weapons. Following this latest incident, the police have called for a review of the license to the basement venue at The Cricketers, which currently operates until 6 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.

PCSO-Watch

Make of this what you will.

Jules Pipe & Steve Dann On Gang Crime

Heard of Channel 4's Street Weapons Commission? It's a panel of experts trying to figure out how to reduce the carrying of guns and knives. Chaired by Cherie Booth, its members include Gus Johnson, formerly Hackney's education director. Among those called to give evidence are Jules Pipe and Hackney's borough police commander Steve Dann. There's a lot of stuff about Operation Curb, and some fascinating insights into the various initiatives taken by the police and others so try to prevent children joining gangs. Among other things we learn that our local mobile intervention unit cost £750,000 per year and that Dann would like to double its personnel. Also, he doubts that the drug trade is "the main driver" of gang crime and says that Hackney police go in for more stop-and-searching, arresting and charging than other London boroughs. See the interview here.