The Met is listening to issues raised by residents in Finsbury Park and tackling anti-social behaviour and violence.
Residents of Finsbury Park said they felt unsafe in specific locations in the area and that anti-social behaviour, drug dealing, theft, and sexual offending were their biggest concerns.
To respond to concerns around these issues, local officers are taking decisive action alongside the local councils to bear down on criminality in the area, collaborating with specialist officers, the public and key partners, to understand and tackle gang-related and organised crime in the area.
This includes plain-clothed and uniformed officers conducting patrols in the area, carrying out warrants at business addresses suspected of being involved in drug dealing, and working with British Transport Police to crackdown on theft, robbery and other offending taking place on public transport.
In the latest targeted policing deployment in Finsbury Park on 17 January, local officers from Islington, Haringey and Hackney worked with the Dog Support Unit and colleagues from the Met’s Territorial Support Group (TSG) to deal with those involved in criminality, leading to eight arrests:
· Three arrests for knife enabled robbery
· One arrest for possession with intent to supply Class A and C drugs, handling stolen goods and immigration offences
· One arrest for being concerned in the supply of drugs and money laundering
· One arrest for possession with intent to supply Class B drugs
· One arrest for conspiracy to supply Class A and C drugs, and possession of Class A drugs
· One arrest for breach of immigration bail
Superintendent Jack May-Robinson, from the Islington Neighbourhoods team, said: “Local policing teams are listening to residents and working alongside partners – including Islington, Hackney and Haringey councils – to tackle issues that matter the most to residents of Finsbury Park.
“We are working with residents to encourage them to work with us and provide us with information that will enhance our intelligence picture and help officers to target offenders and tackle gang-related and organised crime in the area, making the area safer.
“If residents have concerns, I encourage them to get in contact with their local Safer Neighbourhood ward teams or email the Love Finsbury Park team on CNMailbox-.LoveFinsburyPark@met.police.uk.”
Through community crime-fighting, the Met is working to cut crime, rebuild trust and restore its bond with communities. This is one local example of how the Met is working locally to deliver long-lasting result for the residents of Finsbury Park and the rest of the capital.
The activity in Finsbury Park, uses a policing framework known as ‘Clear Hold Build’. This was officially launched earlier this week at St Thomas The Apostle church to bring together partners from the councils and other local community groups to discuss what the ‘Clear, Hold, Build’ approach will look like when delivered to ensure that offenders are kept out of communities and residents are able to build thriving neighbourhoods. Locally this has been branded by those involved as ‘Love Finsbury Park’.
The ‘Clear’ phase means targeted arrests and crime disruption through partnership working, while ‘Hold’ means stabilising the area to stop offenders moving in to fill the void. The ‘Build’ phase is focused on community-driven action to address the causes of criminality and prevent it from happening again.
Supt Jack May-Robinson, added: “The Met is dedicated to working with partners such as Haringey, Hackney and Islington councils to carry out work in order to design out crime in the area. This will include looking at lighting in the area as well as other physical factors that would make Finsbury Park area safer for everyone.”
Cllr Susan Fajana-Thomas OBE, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Regulatory Services at Hackney Council, said: “Our priority is understanding local residents’ concerns and working together with our partners to build lasting improvements to community safety. “In areas like Blackstock Road, where people told us they didn’t feel safe, we’re working with the community to set up a neighbourhood watch scheme. We’ve also launched public safety campaigns against harassment, misogyny and pickpocketing, and increased police patrols and CCTV coverage in the area.”
Cllr John Woolf, Executive Member for Community Safety at Islington Council, said: “Everyone deserves to feel safe wherever they live, study or work in Islington. I am pleased that the police are taking robust action against offenders in Finsbury Park, and we will continue to work in partnership with them to prevent crime.
“We are committed to supporting the project by improving the environment, providing diversionary activities, sharing intelligence and engaging with our residents and businesses. I look forward to working with the police and community to build a safer Finsbury Park.”
Cllr Adam Jogee, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Cohesion at Haringey Council, said: “We support the implementation of the tri-borough Clear, Hold, Build approach, which brings together key services and local groups from the wider Finsbury Park area and puts the community’s voice at the heart of the response.
“Clear, Hold, Build will benefit businesses, communities, residents and visitors by targeting anti-social behaviour and criminality – some of which has been entrenched in N4 for several years now. In seeking to make the area safer for all, we hope this will enhance community confidence accordingly in due course.
“A lot of hard work is going in to make the park in Finsbury Park as family friendly, safe and welcoming as possible and this initiative will bolster those concerted efforts as well.”
Further information:
· Previous police activity on 6 December 2023 on Blackstock Road saw local officers focus on reducing drug supply in the area and conducted three raids at business premises that were believed to be involved in the supply of drugs.
· This resulted in officers arresting seven people for a range of offences including burglary, robbery and allowing drug activity on premises. A dispersal order also was put in place to deter anti-social behaviour and a closure notice was issued to one of the three businesses.
· Throughout this week the Met will share how we are listening to local communities and working with others to respond.
