Kings Cross Environment

At the far North of the Kings Cross patch comes news of an especially callous robbery at a signing centre for deaf people.  Police text follows:

The victim wishes to remain anonymous but said:

“I would appreciate the help of the public in identifying this person. This man cruelly took advantage of me as a deaf person and stole a laptop that contained work of great value to me. I do not want him to be able to commit a similar crime in the future.”

Detectives in Islington are appealing for help from the public to identify a man who stole a laptop from Femaura Deaf Centre in Caledonian Road, N7.

On Saturday 11 February 2012, at around 09:38, the suspect walked into the location, as the door was unlocked as staff at the location are deaf and would not hear the door bell. He then took a Mac book Pro from the top of a desk and left the premises. This was caught on CCTV.

The suspect is described as a black man, aged 20 -25, of slim build with short black hair.

Investigating officer, Police Constable Alex Bingley said:” We are very keen to trace this man and anyone with information on his identity should call police.”

If you have any information that can help police identify this man call 020 7421 0220 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

After an Easter break we return with some awful news. Every now and then the bad past of Kings Cross returns.  In this case a man severely assaulted in Keystone Crescent in August 2004 finally lost his struggle with life last summer.  The case remains a mystery.  The police and his family are appealing for any information – police text follows:

The family of a 41 year old man who died on 1 August 2011, after being found in the street with serious injuries in 2004, have issued a heartfelt appeal for help and information from the public.

On Wednesday 11 August 2004, at 07:45hrs, Gerard Allison, who was 34 years old at the time, was found unconscious with serious head and internal injuries in Keystone Crescent junction with Caledonian Road, N1.

The injuries he sustained from the assault left him with severe traumatic brain injuries. Gerard’s family are desperate to find out what led to his injuries which finally contributed to his death.

His sister, Bridget said:” Gerard’s family, including his two young children, were devastated when he was found but held on to the hope that he would recover to some kind of normality. Through the support of his family, and intensive treatments, he had a gradual but limited recovery over the following seven years; however, his injuries led to his death on 1 August 2011.

“The loss of such a young father and brother has been made much worse for the family, as we have never found out what happened and why.”

Investigating Officer, Detective Sergeant Kerena Hammond said: “We are determined to find out what happened to Gerard on that fateful day. Although it was several years ago, someone out there knows what happened and I appeal to them to come forward and speak to police in confidence.

Anyone with information should call Islington Police Case Progression Unit on 0207 421 0145 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

This site in general is a strong supporter of the work the Met Police does in Kings Cross. There have been some substantial changes to the way the police priorities (for London as a whole) are set.  Basically the Mayor now gives the police strategic direction and he is supported by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime.  And ‘The Mayor and the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime are now directly accountable to the public for policing performance in the capital.‘

I’ve been sent copy of the Q&A on how this will work.  It seems to have originated from the MOPC so has a slight ‘all is rosy’ tone but it’s helpful to have.  There’s an older Q&A on the old MPA’s website.

What is the MOPC?

The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPC) was set up on 16 January 2012 in response to the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act (2011), which reforms the accountability of police services and replaces police authorities across England and Wales with elected individuals.

How is the MOPC different to the MPA?

In London we already had a directly elected individual, the Mayor, so this is not such a fundamental shift for Londoners. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime are now directly accountable for the (i) overall performance of the Met (ii) setting its strategic direction (iii) allocating resources. The Assembly will monitor and scrutinise the work of the MOPC through the work of its Police and Crime Committee (PCC).

How will the MOPC impact on day to day policing in London?

The Mayor won on a policing mandate – many of the anticipated elements of the Act are already in place in London. During the period that the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime was Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA), policing in London became more efficient, with greater savings and more effective crime fighting, with crime falling.

What impact will it have on policing in London?

The Mayor and the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime are now directly accountable to the public for policing performance in the capital. The Assembly’s role has been clarified to scrutinise the way in which the Mayor and Deputy Mayor exercise their executive oversight of policing through the work of the newly established Police and Crime Committee (PCC).

What are the priorities of the MOPC?

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson is responsible for setting London’s policing priorities. He and Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Kit Malthouse, will hold the Met commissioner to account and ensure the Police target crimes that concern Londoners including:

Strengthening the Met’s response to serious youth violence including knife crime;

Ensuring London has enough frontline police officers on the streets;

Targeting robbery, burglary and drug dealing in every borough;

Getting tough on gangs and tackling re-offending rates

What will be the role of the Commissioner of the Metropolis?

The Commissioner will remain in charge of operational policing. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime will set the direction; they will not micro-manage.

Will an advisory board be set up to work with the MOPC to meet in public in order to maintain the transparency that MPA proceedings have

The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 allows this to happen if the Mayor so chooses. People with a wide range of backgrounds would be asked to serve on the advisory board.

What will the MOPC mean for the funding of community and police engagement?

The MOPC retains the same duty to consult communities on policing in London, including (i) obtaining the views of people in the area, with a new responsibility to include victims of crime, about matters concerning their policing and to obtain their cooperation with police in preventing crime, (ii) consulting on the Police and Crime Plan and proposals for expenditure and (iii) publishing specified information to enable residents to assess the performance of the MOPC in exercising its functions, and the performance of the Metropolitan Police Commissioner in exercising the chief officer’s functions.

Borough engagement continues to be necessary under the MOPC, but the planned savings against the CPEG budget still have to be made. The MPA borough team transferred into the MOPC and continues to support the ongoing CPEG improvement and development work in these difficult times. The MPA considered the 2012/13 CPEG budget in December 2011, and it was agreed that the overall CPEG budget for 2012/13 will be £1m.

How to get involved:

The MOPC has a statutory role to consult Londoners in matters of crime, policing and safety. Londoners from all the communities across the 32 boroughs are encouraged to engage with the MOPC in making London safer. There are three ways to engage with the MOPC:

CSBs – Community Safety Boards provide the structure to enable local people to regularly consult with their local police, the police authority, key stakeholders in crime and disorder reduction (such as the local authority and probation service), CSBs are intended to be representative of the local population.

CMGs – Stop & Search Community Monitoring Groups ,The use of stop and search powers by the MPS is subject to public scrutiny. This scrutiny is undertaken by borough based Community Monitoring Groups (CMGs) and provides local communities with the means to communicate their experiences of stop and search to their local police and to review the use of stop and search and stop and account powers in their boroughs.

Independent Custody Visitors – ICVs are ordinary members of the local community. Working as part of a local panel they help the MOPC, which oversees custody visiting in London, to ensure that detainees are treated appropriately.

To take part in any of these groups please contact the MOPC Borough Information & Engagement team by email at BIEU@mopc.police.uk or by post MOPC, 10 Dean Farrar Street, London SW1H 0NY