Dear Resident
I hope you are all well, and enjoying the weather (when it’s not raining!)
The next couple of joint Police and Councillor Surgeries, will be: Friday: 09/12/2022, & 13/01/2022, both 1400-1500 hours in The Choir Vestry, St Matthew’s Church.
As you can see from the crimes below, there are starting to be more burglaries/attempted burglaries in the area. Please remember when you go out, and when you go to bed, to lock all doors and windows, and if you have burglar alarms set them to the appropriate settings. We are now entering the run-up to Christmas, with the longer nights, and people starting to be out more after work and at weekends, so please be careful, and try to make your property as unattractive to burglars as possible.
Please report ANY crimes through one of the 4 ways below:
- 999
- 101 (the non-emergency number for reporting crime);
- met.police.uk and choose the Report tab; or
- Croydon Police Station Front Office, which is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Please DO NOT use the ward phone to report crime, as the team is not in everyday, it should only be used to make appointments with the team for reassurance and community visits.
| Classification | Location | Date | Time |
| Theft From Motor Vehicle – The victim stated that the vehicle was parked on a driveway locked and secured. The suspect(s) are believed have used a drill just above the door handle, to release the rear door mechanism. The suspect(s) then stole a foldable electric bike and a front bag, containing bike lights. The total value of the items stolen, is approx. £1950. | Sandilands | 31/10/2022 | 1100-1230 |
| Burglary – One of the residents of a sheltered accommodation block entered and it is believed that the suspect entered behind, undetected. The suspect then entered one of the flats, and whilst the victim was in another room in the flat, entered and stole £10 from their purse. The victim heard the suspect enter, and called out, but received no reply. | Fairfield Path | 05/11/2022 | 1100-1136 |
| Burglary – The suspect entered the building via the rear, attempted to enter the café through double fire doors, but was unsuccessful as these were locked, so exited the way he had entered. The suspect the forced open the ice cream parlour shutter, and smashed the window, he entered, walked over to the main till, and forced this open. The suspect stole a £5 note and £5 in change, and then exited the same way that he entered. The total value of the items stolen/damaged is £1570. | Lloyd Park Cafe | 06/11/2022 | 0110-0145 |
| Public Decency – The victim saw the suspect at the location, who was naked and touching himself inappropriately. | Lloyd Park, near the Deepdene Avenue entrance | 07/11/2022 | 1520-1530 |
| Burglary – The victims returned from holiday and found that during this period unknown suspect(s) had broken into their house, conducted an untidy search of all rooms, and stolen various, including car keys, gold jewellery, and electrical equipment. The point of entry is believed to have been over the tall side gate, into the back garden, and then forced open a side window. This also acted as the exit. | Selborne Road | 17/10/2022-07/11/2022 | 1100-1700 |
| Theft – A parcel was left outside of the delivery address, and when the victim got home, the parcel had been stolen. | Park Hill Road | 08/11/2022 | 1455-1800 |
| Robbery – The victim, a secondary school student, was asked by the suspect, on the bus to see whose phone was bigger. The victim refused, but when they attempted to get off the bus, however they were stopped by the suspect who held their bag. The suspect then asked the victim again, and the victim handed over their phone. The victim then had to guess which hand their phone was in, the suspect refused to hand back the phone and told the suspect that they needed to stay on for another 2 stops. The victim got off the bus without their phone, and the suspect stayed on the bus. | Addiscombe Road | 09/11/2022 | 1700 |
| Theft From Motor Vehicle – The victim left his vehicle, and when he returned, found that his number plates had been stolen. | Sandilands | 07/11/2022-10/11/2022 | 2130-1836 |
| Attempted Burglary – The suspect(s) attempted to gain entry via the front door, but were heard by the victim, who shouted, then the suspect(s) left. | Cotelands | 12/11/2022 | 0134 |
| Theft of Mail – The victim has stated that there have been strange men hanging around the building recently, and that a suspect has approached, and opened up the victim’s post box and then stolen their post. | The Avenue | 14/11/2022 | 1245 |
| Theft From Motor Vehicle – The victim’s catalytic converter was stolen. They left their vehicle locked and secure, during this period however they saw a car with what they believe to be false plates, parked in the vicinity, and then this disappeared, so they believe this maybe the suspect vehicle. | Steep Hill | 13/11/2022-15/11/2022 | 2300-1200 |
| Theft From Motor Vehicle – The victim saw 3 males cutting off her catalytic converter, and did not approach. | Mapledale Avenue | 15/11/2022 | 1938-1943 |
| Theft From Motor Vehicle – The victim was driving the vehicle and stopped to get food. When they came back to their vehicle, they found that driver’s window had been smashed and the trade plates and navigation system had been stolen. | Chichester Road | 17/11/2022 | 0840-0850 |
| Theft – The victim, a volunteer at the Church put their handbag in the kitchen, and went to work in the Church. When they returned, their bag had been stolen. | St Matthew’s Church, Chichester Road | 18/11/2022 | 1100-1200 |
| TDA (Taking and Driving Away)/TWOC (Taking Without Consent) – The victim received a notification indirectly from the car’s tracking company, to say that the car had been stolen. There was no broken glass at the location and the victim retains the vehicle keys. The vehicle was tracked going from Croydon (Metropolitan Police) to Biggin Hill (Kent Police). During the pursuit a stinger was deployed, as a result of this the suspect attempted to flee on foot, but was arrested and detained. The vehicle was forensically lifted and removed to a Police compound for examination.
The suspect was arrested for TDA, and has been charged with: Driving Whilst Disqualified; Driving Without Insurance; Failing to Stop; Theft of a Motor Vehicle; Points and Blades; Dangerous Driving; and Aggravated TDA. |
Grimwade Avenue | 18/11/2022-19/11/2022 | 2300-0027 |
| Robbery – The victim was walking to an address they owned, when they were approached by 2 suspects on a bicycle. Suspect 1 ordered the victim to hand over their phone, after a confused response, Suspect 2 pulled out a wooden handled knife and asked the victim if they wanted him to use it. Suspect 2 put the knife to the victim’s throat. The victim then handed over their 2 phones. The suspects made off on the bicycle towards Park Hill Rise. | Chichester Road | 25/11/2022 | 1230 |
| Theft From Motor Vehicle – Victim left their car locked and secured, and when they returned, their front and rear number plates had been stolen. | Sandilands | 22/11/2022-26/11/2022 | 0900-1225 |
| Burglary – The victims arrived home and found they were unable to open their front door, as it had been barricaded. Entry was only gained when Police arrived, and were able to clear the barricade. The unknown suspect(s) entered by smashing a lower glass panel on the back door, this was also where they exited the property. The master bedroom was targeted, with a untidy search made, a camera and electrical cables, totalling approximately £500 stolen. | Reynolds Ways | 26/11/2022-27/11/2022 | 1700-0045 |
| Courier Fraud – The victim was called by unknown suspect 1, who told the victim that he was from the HSBC Fraud Department and there had been fraudulent activity on their account using details from London Borough of Croydon’s offices. The victim and suspect 1 were on the phone for about 45 mins. Suspect 1 said that HSBC would send a courier to pick up the credit and debit cards and take them to HSBC Orpington to be destroyed. The courier (suspect 2) arrived at the house and the victim passed the debit and credit cards to him. A little later HSBC phoned and said they’d found there had been withdrawals the victim’s account and that the earlier call had been a scam. The cards were cancelled and the online account frozen. The total lost in transactions was approx. £4000. |
Addiscombe Road | 30/11/2022 | 1200-1300 |
| Burglary – The point of entry for the unknown suspect(s) is believed to be an upstairs small window, at the rear of the property. The window was smashed, and it is believed that the unknown suspect(s) put their arm through, and opened the larger window, adjacent to the small one And climb through. It is believed that the first floor window was accessed by the suspect(s) climbing over a side gate, and then onto a garden table. Downstairs does not appear to have been accessed, and the suspect(s) made off with a large quantity of jewellery. The suspect(s) appear to have exited the same way they entered. | Savile Gardens | 30/11/2022 | 1355-2026 |
| Burglary – The victim came back from holiday, and found that his garage had been accessed, this was unlocked. The suspect(s) had entered the garage, and had then broken the internal door, between the garage and house, smashing the lock. The suspects conducted an untidy search of 2 of the bedrooms, it is unknown if anything was stolen from the house. The suspect(s) made off in the victim’s brand new car.
On Monday 05/12/2022 the stolen vehicle was pursued by officers on patrol from the Violence Suppression Unit (VSU), after it hit an ANPR (Automated Number Plate Reader) camera on Whitehorse Road, Croydon. The VSU pursued the, until it crashed on Kent Gateway near Gravel Hill, Croydon, the victim attempted to escape, but was arrested for a variety of vehicle offences, possession of a firearm (gun was found in the vehicle), and burglary. The suspect has now been charged with Possession of a Firearm, and various vehicle offences. The stolen vehicle was written off. |
Radcliffe Road | 18/11/2022-02/12/2022 | 0725-1400 |
| Burglary – The victim returned home, and the first clue they had about having been burgled, was that the internal front door was open, and when they left this had been closed, on further inspection of the property, they found that a side conservatory window had been forced open, with the entire pane, intact, left on the sofa. An untidy search of the upstairs had been conducted, with 200 Euros, and the victim’s passport having been stolen. | Addiscombe Road | 02/12/2022 | 1030-2015 |
Many thanks.
PCSO Ollie White, PC Charles Gryson, & PC Sam Pike.
