Barbican Cluster Panel Meeting: 18:00, Thursday 13 July

From the BEO:

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Panel Meeting


The next Barbican Cluster Panel Meeting will be at 6pm on Thursday 13 July in Golden Lane Estate Community Centre, Fann Street.

Come and join us to:Receive local crime and antisocial behaviour updates
Discuss local policing activity
Raise concerns directly to officers
Agree Cluster Promises together

Cluster Panels are made up of local people who help us assess community concerns and establish priorities for policing in the area.

Buzzing Up Strangers

From the BEO:

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Buzzing Up Strangers

In these busy times of Christmas deliveries, can we remind residents not to 'buzz in' strangers to the block. Only allow entry if the delivery is intended for you.

Otherwise, always check ID and credentials of workers accessing your homes. All authorised City contractors should be carrying ID and have with them a letter of the work they will be conducting.


Tailgating & Security Reminder for both Residential Blocks & Private Garden Areas

We are taking this opportunity to remind residents to be vigilant about tailgating. This is one of the biggest security threats to the estate and possibly the easiest to solve.

It seems prudent to remind residents not to hold the door/garden gates open for anyone without a residents estate key, but also to be mindful that the doors/garden gates close properly behind you.

If you are not comfortable closing the door on someone and there is someone behaving in a suspicious manner, then please wait until you are in a safe place and call either 101 (the Police non-emergency crime reporting number) or your nearest Concierge or Lobby Porter.

Click here for the list of numbers for the Concierge & Lobby Porters.

Dedicated Ward Police Officers

From the City:

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Dedicated Ward Officers - Barbican




I, Insp. Joe Easterbrook would like to introduce Police Constables Christine Phillips and Mark Murphy as the Dedicated Ward Officers for Barbican Cluster. Barbican Cluster is made up of Aldersgate, Bassishaw, Cripplegate, Coleman Street and part of Farringdon Within ward.

As Dedicated Ward Officers we are responsible for the area, leading on the policing response and management of crime and disorder and being the main point of contact for visitors, residents and businesses. We will also provide a consistent approach to long-term problems.

In addition to patrolling the area engaging with residents and businesses, once it is safe to do so we will conduct panel meetings and surgeries around the cluster and attend residential and business meetings organised by other organisations.

I would remind you that crimes and other incidents of concern should continue to be reported to 999 in an emergency, 101 if not an emergency and can also be reported online, not through Dedicated Ward Officers.

Gardens - Watch your distance!

From the BEO:
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Use of Barbican Gardens

After an incident last weekend in Thomas More gardens where the City of London Police had to be called we request that you make appropriate use of all Barbican gardens, following the Government directives at all times, especially in the warmer weather we are experiencing.

We are pleased to say that the majority of you have been very supportive and have shown immense community spirit and a desire to support public servants and their local communities during these difficult times.

No one wishes to place any restrictions on anyone that are disproportionate or draconian, we simply wish, with the consent of our communities, to preserve and protect life. Staying in our homes and social distancing as repeatedly appealed for by the Prime Minster and Public Health England to avoid the spread of COVID 19, which for some can be fatal, and to avoid the NHS becoming overwhelmed.

Due to the recent incident we have consulted the Barbican Association and Residents Consultation Chairs and signage has been placed on the entrances to the private gardens.

We believe that we should with reasonable behaviour be able to keep the gardens open for the proper use by you in-line with the attached signage.

We would stress again how fantastic the majority of you across the Estate have been and hope that you will support and communicate the intent behind these notices.

The Police

If you would like to contact the police, the numbers are always available on the Useful Numbers tab here on the blog.

...  but just in case:
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City of London Police
Control room (24 hour): 0207 601 2222
Bishopsgate police station (24 hour): 0207 601 2606
Barbican Estate police station (office hours only): 0207 601 2456
... and of course 111 for a non-emergency and 999 for an emergency
See also the City of London Police Reporting a Crime page.

Emergency Service Points - 999

If you ever need emergency services at home, here is how the BEO recommend you direct them to your flat:

Click to read the whole document

Estate CCTV cameras will not now happen

This is just a proposal, but it seems likely that this will come to pass ...

The City Police are no longer proposing to put CCTV cameras around the Barbican Estate.

Because the level of crime is so low, data protection requirements mean they cannot be justified:  “The overwhelming conclusion fed into the Privacy Impact Assessment is that there is not sufficient justification of a ‘problem that needs addressing’ in order to comply with the SCC and Information Commissioner’s guidance on the introduction of surveillance systems.” See:

http://democracy.cityoflondon.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=142&MId=17764&Ver=4

(that link now seems to be blocked)

Rough Sleepers: Police seek information from residents

The police are interested in hearing from residents who have been affected by people rough sleeping on the estate, particularly around Ben Jonson and Breton houses.

If you have been affected please contact PC  Barrie Jarvis of the City of London Police.

Personal impact statements help the Police to obtain a civil restraining injunction if and when one is needed.  Impact statements are not evidence as such, but expressions of concern, and there will be no need to appear in court.  The name of the person making the statement will be included but not their address.

If any residents have personal concerns about the presence of rough sleepers on the Highwalks and are prepared to make impact statements, please contact PC Jarvis by email:

barrie.jarvis@cityoflondon.police.uk

or contact our local police officer Christine, either at the Barbican police station or on 020 7601 2456.

Cancelled - Community Partnership Meeting Thursday 7th January

From the City of London police via the BEO:
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Dear Residents

Please note that the next Community Partnership Meeting Thursday 7th January 2016 at 1800hr at Tudor Rose Court, 35 Fann Street, London EC2 has been cancelled.

In addition, the Barbican Police Office at the base of Shakespeare Tower is currently closed so please call 0207 601 2222 (Wood Street 24 hours).

With regards
Barbican Estate Office

Go to jail. Help keep cells in good order.

From the City via the BEO comes a request for volunteers to help to keep jails in good nick:
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Independent Custody Visitors – Local Volunteers

The City of London Corporation, in its capacity as the police authority for the Square Mile, is currently recruiting volunteers from the City to act as Independent Custody Visitors (ICV).

The Police Committee has agreed a Scheme which safeguards the welfare of people detained in City of London Police Stations. As part of this Scheme, independent visitors are appointed to carry out regular checks on the conditions under which detainees are kept. It is an important and valuable role in the local community, particularly through maintaining public confidence in this important area of policing.

The main duties of a visitor are to attend local police stations on a monthly basis and carry out inspections of the cells. Each visit should last no longer than two hours. Although ICVs are unpaid, any incurred expenses would be reimbursed. You will be provided with all relevant training. Volunteers can be either residents or City workers and require no formal qualifications, although they must be over 18 and cannot be justices of the peace, serving police officers or civilian employees; members from the City of London Corporation or special constables

For further details on this, please contact Xanthe Couture on 020 7332 3113.

Police Contact/Information

From the BEO

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Message sent out on request of the City of London Police:

Dear Residents

A reminder to all residents to please contact the City of London Police should you see or hear anything suspicious or untoward. Please make contact at the time of the incident so that we can decide on the most appropriate response.

If you have a minor cause for concern, we urge you to contact us on the non-emergency number as your call  may provide us with valuable information.

In an emergency call 999.

For non-emergency matters, please call 0207 601 2222  -this is The City of London Police direct dial number for the public within the City of London.

OTHER WAYS OF CONTACTING POLICE
Anonymous referrals Crimestoppers 0800 500 111
Twitter https://twitter.com/CityPolice
http://www.cityoflondon.police.uk

With regards

Barbican Estate Office

Police: Hang Up on Fraud

From the City of London Police

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Dear Residents

Our Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Card Unit (DCPCU) are organising a campaign on Monday 13^th July in the morning to increase awareness of fraud from telephone calls. 

Community Engagement Officers with DCPCU will visit some flats and talk to residents on Barbican Estate as part of the campaign and BBC London News will be filming the event to get the message out to a larger audience.  They will also being filming an interview with a Barbican resident who has been the victim of one of these type of frauds.

Given the logistics of Barbican Estate I would be grateful to hear from any residents who would be able to assist by allowing us to chat to them on their doorsteps or communal areas about telephone fraud for filming purposes.

I know that its short notice but would be grateful if you could ask for names to be passed on by yourself or a message on one of the numbers below that I can pick up on Monday morning.

Many thanks.

Christine Phillips
Residential Community Engagement
Barbican Police Office
0207 601 2456
07736 952395

City Police Meeting: 9th July

City of London police community meeting on 9th July at 18:00 held at Tudor Rose Court, 35 Fann Street.  ...

A CCTV Experience

A resident sent me the following story about their experience with CCTV.  Interesting things in this story are the resolution of the cameras, who has access to the cameras and how the use of the cameras is logged (or not).

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... one day I spotted that the CCTV camera in the street outside was pointing into our building. I queried this with the police and was advised that it was pointed towards one of the televisions that were hanging from our ceiling. The television was a good 50 ft into the building.

I visited Wood Street police station to talk to the CCTV specialist. He advised that, because of the number of agencies that could access the CCTV system, he could not tell me who had re-positioned the camera, when they had repositioned it and what they had seen.

I was given the opportunity to see the view from the cameras. It was possible to read writing on a computer screen 10 ft inside the building.

The consultation document advises that “The technology allows a ‘Privacy Mask’ to be applied to cover an area that impinges on any part of residents premises. The Privacy Mask will be part of any recorded images and no images from behind the privacy mask will be recorded.”. Having received my complaint, the police instigated what I think is the proposed privacy mask and I was given the opportunity to view this. The mask meant that an area of the screen was blacked out and the operator could not linger where the mask was set – the camera automatically moved away from the area. However, to enable the police to be able to see activity at street level (my office was on the first floor), not all the office could be included in the privacy mask.

The consultation advises that those in the City Corporation with access to the CCTV system includes: the City Transportation team in the Department of Built Environment, the Parking Enforcement Team and the Street Environment team. “In addition to this, CCTV may be accessed/ used for the security monitoring of major planned events taking place within the City and may be used in the event of an emergency/ major incident”. I think that too many people will have access to the images and, based on my experience, I do not believe that the proposed controls around the use of cameras is sufficient.

Bernard Morgan House for sale

I understand that the police have vacated Bernard Morgan House this weekend, and that the property is now on the market.  Property Week suggests that the price is £17.5 million.

To be revamped or demolished?

Behind and to the left in this image you can see chapel Jewin of the Presbyterian Church of Wales. There is also talk of this being sold. Together these properties make up quite a large patch of land close to Ben Jonson House.

New housing development here?

Police Community Meeting: Thu 8th Jan 18:00

The City of London police hold regular community meetings, where residents can go along and hear what the police have been doing and also let the police know what they think is important.

Details of the next meeting:

Community Partnership Meeting - Golden Lane/Barbican Estateship Meeting.

The next meeting will be:

Thursday 8^th January 2015
1800 hours
Tudor Rose Court, 35 Fann Street

Christine Phillips Residential Community EngagementBarbican Police Office 0207 601 2456 07736 952395

Does a mat matter?

Some residents of Ben Jonson House have a door mat outside their door in the hallway.  One such mat has very recently gone missing!

While annoying for the ex-mat owner, this may not seem like big news, but a similar mystery in another block in the Barbican was solved when mats turned up in a heap at the top of a quiet stairwell, along with drug taking paraphernalia.  Oh, yes.

So if you happen to use the stairs and come across a pile of mats, or if your mat goes missing, please let the CPA know.

(Police, BEO and house officers are aware)

Residents Survey: The Police

From the City of London police:

Residents Survey
Are you a Resident of the City of London? Please help us to improve your City … The City of London Police and City of London Corporation are continuously looking for ways to improve the experience of living in the City. As a result, we are asking Residents to complete a short questionnaire. It will take a maximum of 15 minutes to complete and will be an opportunity to provide important feedback on your views, concerns and suggestions about safety and security in the City of London. Please click here to access the questionnaire. Many thanks for your help with this On behalf of the City of London Police and City of London Corporation Please contact us at support@mclarensolutions.com if you are having any difficulty accessing or completing the survey.
City of London 2014

PS John Zuber

Residential Team

Community Policing

City Of London Police