Stabbing at Carphone Warehouse, Streatham High Road

At 16:20 yesterday (August 17), police were called to a report of a stabbed male outside the Carphone Warehouse store in Streatham High Road, SW16. 

On arrival, it became apparent there had been a fracas between two groups of males. Two males from the same group had suffered injuries. The first, a 20-year-old, was stabbed in his arm and buttock. The second male, also aged 20, was apparently struck over the head by a heavy object, believed to be a belt.

Officers established the stabbed male had been chased by a group and attacked with a knife. The knife was then dropped by the attacker, picked up by a friend of the stabbed male and used to threaten the attacking group, before being discarded in Woodbourne Avenue. The friend, a 22-year-old male, was arrested on suspicion of affray.

The attacking group had left the scene by the time police arrived. Officers searched Woodburne Avenue and discovered a firearm wrapped in a towel which, following CCTV enquiries, was attributed to the group containing the stabbed male.

As a result of the fracas, Section 60 (Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994) search powers were invoked by Commander Richard Martin for the following wards: Streatham South, Streatham Wells, Streatham Hill, Tulse Hill, Coldharbour and Vassall. The powers expired at 02:00 today (August 18).

Both the stabbed male and the male who had suffered head injuries were taken to King's College Hospital for further treatment. Neither were deemed to have suffered life-changing or life-threatening injuries.

While at the hospital, the male with head injuries attempted to hide a knife in a bag belonging to his visiting mother. Both the male and his mother were arrested on suspicion of possession of a bladed article in a public place.

There was another stabbing a few doors away, a couple of years ago.   It will be interesting to hear if police think that more 'safe havens' such as those organised under the City Safe scheme in this part of the High Road, would help to address incidents like this.

'Safe and Secure Streatham' event - 7.00pm tonight

I'll be speaking tonight at the Safe and Secure Streatham event at St Leonard's Church about the progress of the CitySafe scheme run by London Citizens, to provide Safe Havens for young people in the local area. You can find out more about the scheme here.

The meeting tonight is being organised by community forum Streatham Action, and begins at 7.00pm. All are very welcome to attend. There will also be updates on the new Wardens on the High Road, and plans for some of Streatham's Green spaces including Streatham Green and Streatham Common.

Stabbing on Streatham High Road - Would expanded 'Safe Havens' scheme have helped?

On Saturday afternoon there was another stabbing in Streatham - this time thankfully it does not appear to have been fatal.  The one in August last year in Gleneldon Mews sadly was.

The details seem to have been that before 5.00pm a 17 year old was stabbed, on the other side to The High on Streatham High Road .  Witnesses describe seeing the boy being chased and "running for his life".  At one point he reportedly ran into a clothing shop near 'I Love Coffee'.

Officers, London Ambulance Service and London's Air Ambulance attended  and he was taken to a south London hospital where he remains in a stable condition.  Three people have been arrested.

This is clearly the wrong time to cut the local Safer Neighbourhood Team down from six to just two people as the Mayor of London is proposing, with 20% cuts to the police service.  However, it also begs questions about what can be done in such circumstances by the community.  Whilst local intelligence from community policing is very important, the police cannot be everywhere, all of the time.

The details of the incident are yet to fully emerge, but it does seem that this is the kind of incident which the CitySafe scheme can help to tackle.  The scheme, which we have been supporting and promoting, has been developed by London Citizens.  It enables shopkeepers to make their shops "Safe Havens" for young people who find themselves in trouble.  Hundreds of shops across London already take part.

Shops that become CitySafe Havens sign a charter committing them to:

- Pledge to report 100% of crime to the Police
- Offer their premises as a safe haven for any young person in danger
- Maintain a relationship with neighbours, police and the local community
- Encourage their staff to attend CitySafe training
- Refuse to sell alcohol, knives or other dangerous items to underage or drunk customers.

The initiative is growing in Streatham, the shops taking part on Streatham High Road are the All Aboard charity shop, Unikob The Stationer and Shoppers Delight newsagent.  However more shops need to be encouraged to take part, and young people also need to be made more aware of their existence.   These are both things we are working to do.

CitySafe in Streatham

At an event during Streatham's Peace Week last month, we discussed the London Citizen's City Safe scheme which has been spreading across the UK.

The scheme works by setting up CitySafe Havens. These are public places where young people can seek refuge in a difficult situation.

CitySafe Havens sign a charter committing them to:

- Pledge to report 100% of crime to the Police
- Offer their premises as a safe haven for any young person in danger
- Maintain a relationship with neighbours, police and the local community
- Encourage their staff to attend CitySafe training
- Refuse to sell alcohol, knives or other dangerous items to underage or drunk customers.

Hundreds of local shops have signed up to become CitySafe Havens across London, as well as churches, mosques and synagogues, to reclaim the streets from crime, addressing local problems of crime with innovative action.

The initiative is now taking off in Streatham, as reported in the Streatham Guardian this week, in which local Green Lianna Etkind talks about the scheme.

The shops taking part on Streatham High Road are the All Aboard charity shop, Unikob The Stationer and Shoppers Delight newsagent.