Reporting Incidents and Concerns to Police

There are generally 5 ways to report incidents to police:

1) Where there is an offence and / or there is immediate or potential danger to any person or property call 999.

2) Log onto the MET website and make a report electronically. This is the preferred method of reporting where there is no immediate or potential danger, however it is only an option for simple crime and reports. The website will direct you to call if the report is unsuitable for online reporting.

This is the preferred means for the public to report and the web address is www.met.police.uk/report

3) Call 101. This is the police non-emergency number. I have been informed by users that there is often a long wait to get through to the operator, depending on the time of day you call. Please bear with us on this.

4) Report at a police station. Unfortunately many have been closed in the last few years. Each borough maintains at least one 24 hours police station for the public.

The public police station for Wandsworth is Lavender Hill. Details are as follows:
Lavender Hill Police Station, 176 Lavender Hill, SW11 1JX

There is also a 24 hours police Station in Fulham just over the river which maybe closer:
Shepherds Bush Police Station, 252 Uxbridge Road, W12 7JA

5) Any police officer not engaged in any other activity at the time must make a report to any crime reported to them. To compensate the loss of police stations and face to face availability, Dedicated Ward Officers (Neighbourhood Police Officers) have been tasked with allocating 1 hour per week to a various forms of public engagement where the public can make reports to them. Keep an eye out for when your local officers are running theirs.

Some people may think their information is important enough to bother the police. Ultimately, if you are considering whether contact to or not, there is clearly enough concern and its advised you do so. At worst your information will not be use, but it could prove to be vital evidence.

The key advice here is to report any suspicious behaviour or crime. It allows police to assess the crime patterns in the area and valuable intelligence even if not a crime incident. You don’t have to provide your name or details if you don’t wish to but doing so will help police should we need further information or clarification.

Importantly, resources of various kinds maybe allocated to crime and anti-social problem areas. Such resources typically require justification which can be supported by crime figures.

May 10, 2018