Covent Garden London
The heart of London's West End
crackdown.org.uk
A high-profile campaign to 'demand' adequate policing in the West End of London has been launched this week.
Residents and businesses, fed up with a chronic lack of Police officers to deal with the menacing drug dealers, crazed drug users, muggers and other criminal elements in Covent Garden and Soho, have decided to take their problems to the 'Top'. At a meeting of the Central Westminster Police & Community Consultative Group on Wednesday 11th October, the Police were left in no doubt that the situation in London's West End has reached crisis proportions.
A CRISIS MEETING has been arranged for Thursday 19th October at 18:30 hrs in the Soho Parish School, 23 Great Windmill Street, London W1. All are welcome - please bring colleagues, neighbours and children.
Many shops, restaurants and theatres feel the pressure mounting. Their customers give Covent Garden a miss, their staff are afraid to leave at night, 'steamers' and 'raiders' loot shops, and innocent passers-by are robbed and assaulted if they refuse to buy drugs on the street.
The Police devise new 'operations' on a regular basis - their names often a lot more wonderful and colourful than the results they produce. Many residents believe that, if only Police resources were spent on 'visible policing' (bobbies-on-the-beat), would-be muggers, dealers and junkies will look elsewhere for their prey.
In order to bring the latest wave of problems to the attention of the Home Secretary (and those who hold the purse strings), the CRACKDOWN campaign has been started. A petition circulates throughout Covent Garden and Soho during October, a special telephone line has been set-up and the www.crackdown.org.uk website has gone live this week.
Anyone wishing to sign the petition can download a copy here.
If you are unable to come to the public meeting on Thursday 19th October, email us to express your interest and we will endeavour to keep you informed about the campaign.
WWW.CRACKDOWN.ORG.UK
tel 020 7734 9771
- Newspaper coverage of the problems - now and then:
- Evening Standard, 13/10/2000 - walk-about with the Police in Soho
- Evening Standard, 12/10/2000 - crime crisis sweeps Soho streets
- Evening Standard, 12/10/2000 - 'Most rough sleepers are thieves'
- Evening Standard, 1/9/1999 - Beggars targeted in Soho drugs war
- Evening Standard, 27/7/1998 - Special squad for Soho drugs menace
© Covent Garden Community Association, 14/10/2000
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