Dear All,
The past two weeks has seen a flurry of activity across the BCU, we have responded to a wide range of incidents and as usual we have received some great feedback and seen some good results too.

I received high praise from the Murder Investigation Team, in relation to the recent murder in Walworth.  This included great support from Emergency Response Team in relation to responding to and managing a significant and complex crime scene.  Support from our proactive Local Investigation teams and our Neighbourhood Policing Teams who provided significant community insights and engagement – thank you all.

I felt very honoured to attend the launch of the Big Caribbean Lunch at the Palace of Westminster with A/CI Val Charles, hosted by MP Helen Hayes – Thank you to Ros from Friends of Windrush Square, who is doing a tremendous amount of work in support of Windrush Square.

I attended the first Southwark Policing Oversight Board, which was held in Walworth Town Hall earlier this week.  It was good to meet and hear from some of our local communities.

I am going on a period of leave today, until 20th May and D/Supt Vanessa Britton will be A/BCU Cdr in my absence, so please do reach out Vanessa if you have any issues.

Thank you for all your support.
Emma
Acting BCU Commander

Recent News
 

Stolen Phones Restored
AS Street Duties Team 2 members PCs Boyle, Hollobone and Babar were instrumental in the recovery of 15 phones that had been stolen overnight on Tuesday. One victim was tracking his mobile phone via ‘find my iPhone’ so the officers drove with the victim to the area the phone was supposedly in. After narrowing down the search area and keeping it contained a general purpose police dog was requested to search for the missing phone. The dog indicated on a couple of areas within the bushes and subsequently a total of 15 high value mobile phones were recovered, one of which was that victims. The victim was absolutely thrilled with the officers, commenting on their dedication to helping him.
 

After conducting checks it was established at least 5 of the other phones were stolen within the last 48 hours. PCs Cooper and Li located all the investigations and made contact with all five victims and arranged for the return of their devices. All were thrilled to receive their phones back and were hugely impressed by the Officers  hard work and tenacity.

Cracking Down on Prolific Shoplifters
A shoutout to PCs Husen and Osman from Bankside SNT who have managed to put four prolific shoplifters behind bars in two days thanks to some long hours of hard work - Well Done.

Zero Tolerance for Abuse of our Wider Colleagues
Officers were called to two paramedics violently attacked and punched repeatedly in the face by a patient who had fled after assaulting them inside their Ambulance. PCs Lowe and Jayaraju along with A/PS Healy responded and made it to the scene within 30 seconds. The victims were dazed, injured and scared that the suspect would return. After providing excellent victim care and conducting a thorough initial investigation (tracing an independent witness, obtaining three MG11’s, seizing clothing and swabs of suspect’s saliva), they then conducted fast paced intel checks in an attempt to locate the suspect with the help of PC Pearson-Fletcher who also completed all of the paperwork to a high standard. Officers found the suspect’s father’s address and persisted throughout the shift attempting the arrest enquiry multiple times leading to his eventual arrest. They also liaised with the LAS Commander and kept both victim’s informed and provided a thorough handover to PC Watt of LCT who went on to successfully charge and remand the suspect.

Missing Person Located
Police were called to a vulnerable 12 year old child who had run away from mothers address and believed to be at risk of harm. PCs Mosley and Wake responded and attempted to return the vulnerable child to mother but he began actively evading police on a lime bike. PC Mosley called for additional units to respond including a TSG unit and called for the unmarked Q car from ASW to help in safely stopping the bike. After a search across 9 roads in Walworth aided by live tracking of an air tag sewn into the child’s clothing, PC Mosley was able to locate and return child to mother safely.

Proactive Work Done Well
Impressive pro-activity and local knowledge displayed by PCs Kalsi and Mullin –Smith (Faraday SNT) and Sgt Crutchlow (Newington SNT). In the wake of the tragic gang-related murder in Hillingdon Street SE17 on 14th April 2025 the officers noticed two men behaving suspiciously and paying attention to the crime scene the following day. The officers stopped them, obtained details and shared the information with MIT who subsequently charged and remanded one of the men as a result. The MIT DI wrote to express his appreciation and the Neighbourhood Team has played a key part in providing intelligence and context about a local South American gang.

Recognition by Local Authority 
A presentation that was made on Tuesday this week by Lambeth YJS to PCs Randall and Knight (Lambeth YOT). These certificates of recognition were given at a Lambeth CSC appreciation breakfast at the Civic Centre in Brixton, and were awarded “for making a difference to children and young people and excellence practice”

There is clearly a valued partnership between police and the local authority, and it’s nice that not only has this been recognised by the LA but that Sue and Jason have been celebrated for their efforts too.