VIDEO: Havering Safer Neighbourhood Conference held in Romford.

A successful Safer Neighbourhood Conference was held in Romford yesterday, Wednesday 14 July. The conference was organised by Shelley Hart the borough’s Chair of the Safer Neighbourhood Board and returned to Romford after a two year absence due to Covid restrictions.

Local councillors joined Havering council officers and East Area police officers at the Salvation Army centre to talk about the borough’s key safety issues.

Havering Council’s Enforcement Officer Jane Eastaff who is very proactive in the borough working closely with our local police was present alongside Sergeant Catherine Brindley McEvoy.

Sergeant McEvoy gave a presentation on the Online Watch Link, known as OWL being used across Havering.

Members of the Met Cyber Crime Unit were also present.

Councillor Stephanie Nunn told the Havering Daily:

“I was pleased to attend the Safer Neighbourhood Conference after an imposed absence of two years due to Covid.  A lot of work obviously went into organising the day for which I thank those involved and I hope that in the future more members of the public will be able to attend.

“Shelley Hart, Chair of the Safer Neighbourhood Board started the conference off by advising how important it is to get the community fully involved.  She stated that more ward panel and neighbourhood watch members are needed and residents are welcome to contact her for further information.

“Stuart Bell Borough Commander East Unit BCU is new to his post and was the first speaker of the day.   I was heartened to hear many positive things that he reported including the intention to put more resources into neighbourhood policing, to make public spaces safe, to improve detection rates and to improve how violence against females is dealt with, as this is an area that is under reported.”

Councillor Barry Mugglestone Cabinet Member for Environment, told the Havering Daily:

“I was interested to hear about the history and work of the Neighbourhood Watch (NHW) as this year marks its 40^th anniversary.   NHW is about community spirit and looking after each other, so I was glad to hear the new Borough Commander, Stuart Bell talk about how important the Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNTs) are and that he supports them. I am now expecting an improvement and all wards will have their respective Sergeants, PCs and PCSO as each of these individuals, irrelevant of rank are an important cog in Community Policing that re-assures our residents.I would like to thank Shelley Hart for all the hard work she does for the SNB in genera,l but also the good work she does for the Community at Havering Volunteer Centre..

The conference was very informative and well received by all those who attended.