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Furzedown Safer Neighbourhood Panel

Our four community-safety priorities

Select a priority to understand what it covers, what local police and partners have reported doing, what action has been taken, and practical steps residents can take to reduce risk and report concerns.

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Current priorities

Choose the issue you want to understand.

Each priority has a clear definition, a summary of Furzedown-specific action reported through the Met and Panel meetings, prevention advice and the correct reporting routes.

One priority at a time. Select any priority below and only that information will open. Choose another priority at any time to switch views.

Robbery

Street robbery, youth robbery and how robbery differs from burglary and theft.

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Theft from motor vehicles

Break-ins, interference with vehicles, local hotspot activity and prevention.

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Anti-social behaviour

Repeat nuisance, drug-related concerns, dangerous vehicle use and environmental issues.

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Violence Against Women & Girls

Safer public spaces, prevention, support, reporting and challenging harmful behaviour.

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Priority 1

Robbery — and how burglary differs

Robbery is the published priority. Burglary is a separate offence, but it is explained here because residents also raise home and premises break-ins and the distinction is important.

What counts as robbery or burglary?

Robbery

A theft or attempted theft where force, or the threat of force, is used against a person immediately before or at the time of the theft. Street “mugging” is a common example.

Burglary

Entering a building, or part of one, as a trespasser with the intention of stealing, causing serious injury or criminal damage; it can also include stealing or attempting to steal after entering as a trespasser.

Important: robbery and burglary are not the same crime. A phone taken with threats or force may be robbery; an unlawful entry into a home to steal is burglary.

Why this is a Furzedown priority

The Met’s Furzedown priority page identifies Graveney School, Furzedown Recreation Ground and the area around Tooting Bec Athletic Track as locations where robbery has been a particular concern, including offences affecting young people travelling to and from school.

Police have also highlighted offenders travelling into the ward, including on mopeds, and the need to use local intelligence, CCTV and school engagement to prevent and investigate offences.

Local action reported

Police & partner activity

Met priority

Data-led patrols, school support and Operation Nomad cameras

The current Furzedown Met priority statement describes intelligence-led policing, a Children and Young Person specialist officer working with Graveney School, crime-prevention advice for students and police cameras used to obtain evidence quickly.

May 2026

Six arrests and targeted areas

At the May Panel meeting, police reported six arrests on Furzedown ward since the previous meeting, targeted work in areas where robberies were occurring, increased attention around the athletics-track path and development of an intelligence-led plan.

Jan 2026

High-visibility sweeps, mobile CCTV and school-time shifts

Police reported challenging known individuals, high-visibility sweeps, mobile CCTV and changing shift patterns to increase availability around school opening and closing times.

Burglary

Break-in response and prevention

Published Panel minutes recorded a downward burglary trend in April 2025. By May 2026, police reported an arrest connected with church break-ins and no further incidents at that point.

What residents can do

Keep phones and valuables discreetStay aware of your surroundings, particularly when using a phone near roads, stations, parks or school routes.

Choose busy, well-lit routesWhere practical, use routes with more people, lighting and CCTV, especially after dark.

Do not risk injury for propertyIf threatened with violence, prioritise personal safety rather than trying to physically resist an offender.

Secure your home properlyLock doors and windows, double-lock suitable doors, keep keys away from letterboxes, use lighting or alarms and keep valuables out of sight.

Preserve useful evidenceRecord the time, location, direction of travel, clothing and vehicle details if safe to do so; keep relevant doorbell or CCTV footage.

Protect a stolen phone quicklyUse device tracking and account security features and contact your network. See the Panel’s mobile-phone safety guide.

Reporting robbery or burglary

Call 999 if a crime is happening now, someone is in immediate danger or an offender may still be nearby. For non-emergencies, report to the Met online or call 101. Information can also be given anonymously to Crimestoppers.

Call 999 Call 101 Reporting guide

Met: Furzedown priorities ↗Met: robbery prevention ↗Met: home security ↗Panel minutes: May 2026 Mobile-phone safety ↑ Back to four priorities

Priority 2

Theft from motor vehicles

This priority focuses on theft of items from vehicles and attempts to gain access, while recognising that theft of the vehicle itself is a related but different offence.

What this priority covers

Theft from a vehicle

Property is stolen from inside or from a vehicle — for example bags, tools, documents, electronics, number plates or items left in a car or van.

Vehicle interference

Trying doors or interfering with a vehicle with intent to steal the vehicle or something from it can be a criminal offence even if nothing is ultimately taken.

Related but separate: “theft of a motor vehicle” means the vehicle itself is taken.

What police have identified locally

The Met’s Furzedown priority statement says offences often occur overnight but can happen in daylight, with reports of people trying door handles and windows being smashed. It identifies residential streets between Mitcham Lane and Rectory Lane as an area where reports have been more common.

Panel minutes have also highlighted Beclands and Southcroft Roads and the importance of early reporting and usable CCTV or doorbell footage.

Local action reported

Police & partner activity

Met priority

Plain-clothes operations and flexible shifts

The Furzedown team says it uses fast-time community intelligence to focus plain-clothes operations and has adjusted working hours around the times offences are being committed.

May 2026

Bait vehicles and targeting repeat offenders

Police told the Panel that theft from vehicles appeared to involve a relatively small number of offenders and that baited vehicles would be used as part of targeted work.

Jan 2026

Hotspot patrols

Police reported a pattern around the Tooting Bec/Balham borders and said the SNT aimed to increase patrols in hotspot areas, including roads such as Beclands and Southcroft.

Earlier work

ANPR, leafleting and overnight patrols

Panel updates have included vehicle-crime prevention leafleting, ANPR operations where applicable and changed shift patterns to enable patrols during likely offending hours.

What residents can do

Lock the vehicle every timeEven brief stops matter. Check doors are actually locked and close windows and the sunroof fully.

Leave nothing tempting on displayTake phones, bags, wallets, coins, medication and electronics with you. Remove visible cables and mounts too.

Do not leave documents insideRegistration, insurance and identity documents can help a thief impersonate the owner or commit further fraud.

Park where there is visibilityUse well-lit, busier streets or secure car parks where possible and avoid isolated locations.

Protect tools and external itemsRemove tools overnight where possible, mark valuable equipment and secure roof-rack or external items properly.

Report suspicious door-trying quicklyIf someone is actively trying vehicle doors or breaking into cars, call police rather than confronting them yourself.

Reporting vehicle crime

If someone is breaking into a vehicle now or there is an immediate risk, call 999. If you discover theft or damage later, report online or via 101 and retain any CCTV, doorbell footage, times and descriptions.

Call 999 Call 101 View crime map

Met: Furzedown priorities ↗Met: prevent theft from a vehicle ↗Panel minutes: May 2026 Panel minutes: January 2026 ↑ Back to four priorities

Priority 3

Anti-social behaviour (ASB)

ASB can seriously affect quality of life even where individual incidents may seem minor. Repeat reports, precise locations and patterns are particularly important for effective problem-solving.

What counts as ASB?

The Met describes ASB as behaviour that causes, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress. It can be personal, community nuisance or environmental in nature.

Examples

Intimidating groups, nuisance behaviour, drug-related activity, vandalism, dangerous or inappropriate vehicle use and persistent disturbances.

Not every issue is police-led

Fly-tipping, housing-management problems, noise and environmental issues may need the Council or landlord, although police can become involved where criminality or risk is present.

What has been raised in Furzedown

The Met’s Furzedown page refers to cannabis use and stolen mopeds in Furzedown Recreation Ground, mopeds and cyclists using pedestrian space around Eardley Road/Blegborough Road, and drug-related concerns around Mosyer Court and Fayland Avenue.

Panel meetings have also discussed Garrick House/Fayland Avenue, Birchwood Road, fly-tipping, dangerous riding and recurring concerns around specific alleys and premises.

Local action reported

Police & partner activity

Met priority

Drug warrants, ASB powers and partnership work

The Furzedown team says community intelligence has been used for drug warrants. It also describes use of Road Traffic Act powers, ASB warnings, Community Protection Warnings and Community Protection Notices, alongside Council work on pedestrian-safety measures.

May 2026

Targeting specific groups and locations

Police reported action around groups linked with drink and drugs, concerns near Westcote Road/Rackham Mews and issues around the Furzedown pub.

Jan 2026

Schools and fly-tipping

Police planned contact with Graveney’s safeguarding lead about damage to front doors and asked residents to provide specific times and locations for ongoing ASB. Council fly-tipping teams were reported to be issuing fines.

2025

Warnings, fines, cameras and joint problem-solving

Updates included approaching groups to deter behaviour, graded responses from warnings through fines or arrest, fly-tipping cameras and work with Council and Highways on repeat locations.

What residents can do

Report patterns, not just frustrationGive exact dates, times, locations, descriptions and how often the issue happens. Patterns help agencies target resources.

Use the correct agencyPolice for crime, threats or immediate risk; Council routes for fly-tipping, some noise, environmental and housing-estate concerns.

Do not confront risky groupsKeep a safe distance and report behaviour rather than placing yourself in a potentially volatile situation.

Keep a simple incident logFor repeat problems, record times, dates and what happened. This can help demonstrate persistence and impact.

Share intelligence safelyIf you know who may be involved but do not want to identify yourself, Crimestoppers accepts anonymous information.

Tell the Panel about recurring local concernsThe Panel can raise persistent community-safety issues with police and partners, but it is not a substitute for formally reporting incidents.

Reporting ASB

Use 999 for immediate danger or violence. For non-emergency ASB, report through the Met or relevant Wandsworth Council service. The Panel can also receive information about recurring local priorities after formal reporting.

Call 999 Call 101 Who do I report to?

Met: Furzedown priorities ↗Met: what is ASB? ↗Panel minutes: May 2026 Panel minutes: January 2026 ↑ Back to four priorities

Priority 4

Violence Against Women & Girls (VAWG)

VAWG is an umbrella term covering forms of violence and abuse that disproportionately affect women and girls. It is not a single police-recorded crime category, so broad crime figures must be interpreted carefully.

What this priority includes

VAWG can include domestic abuse, sexual violence, stalking, harassment, coercive or controlling behaviour, spiking, harmful practices and other forms of gender-based violence or abuse.

Data caution: the broad police category “violence and sexual offences” should not be presented as if every incident were a VAWG offence. Furzedown-level domestic-abuse and sexual-offence breakdowns are not available in the Panel’s published source material.

What Furzedown residents have raised

Panel discussions have highlighted safety around Tooting Commons, Furzedown Recreation Ground and the athletics-track path, particularly after dark, as well as lighting, groups congregating, fast-moving e-bikes/mopeds and the need for visible patrols and safer routes.

The Panel’s approach also includes prevention, respectful attitudes, support routes and partnership accountability — not only enforcement after an offence.

Local action reported

Police & partner activity

May 2026

Targeted locations and Walk & Talk

Police reported targeting locations where non-domestic VAWG incidents had occurred, increased attention around the athletics-track path and plans for a Walk & Talk led by the local VAWG lead so women could raise safety concerns directly.

Jan 2026

Licensed-premises work and spiking prevention

Police reported activity around licensed premises, particularly around Tooting Broadway, aimed at deterring drink spiking. The Council was also providing advice and multi-agency work was taking place around Tooting Commons.

Oct 2025

Safety devices, hotspot activity and safer routes

Updates included advice to licensed premises, distribution of safety devices, CCTV vehicles targeting ASB hotspots, work to cut back bushes on a route from North Drive and further work around safe spaces.

Jul 2025

Patrols around the recreation ground and athletics track

Police reported increased patrols around the athletics track and agreed to focus on the recreation ground at a time specifically raised by residents as feeling unsafe.

What residents can do

Report crimes and abuseVAWG should never be reduced to “feeling unsafe”. Domestic abuse, sexual violence, stalking, harassment and spiking can all require specialist or police support.

Use StreetSafe for unsafe public placesStreetSafe lets people anonymously flag public places that feel unsafe because of issues such as poor lighting or concerning behaviour. It is not for reporting crimes or emergencies.

Take part in Walk, Talk and DoWomen can walk local routes with officers to explain where and why they feel unsafe and support practical problem-solving.

Look out for one anotherIf a situation feels wrong, check in with someone safely, seek staff/security help, and use bystander approaches that do not place you at risk.

Use specialist supportWandsworth has confidential domestic-abuse and VAWG services, including Refuge IDVA support for people aged 16+.

Tell the Panel about environmental concernsLighting, overgrown routes, repeated locations and community experiences can be raised for partnership follow-up alongside formal crime reporting.

VAWG support and reporting

If someone is in immediate danger, call 999. Wandsworth lists Refuge IDVA support on 0203 879 3544 (Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm) and the 24/7 National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247. Crimes should be reported to police; specialist services can provide confidential support.

Call 999 IDVA support Support services ↗

Met: StreetSafe ↗Met: Walk, Talk and Do ↗Wandsworth: VAWG ↗Panel minutes: May 2026 ↑ Back to four priorities

About these updates: local action above is based on the Met’s published Furzedown priority information and the Panel’s published meeting minutes. It summarises activity reported at those points in time; it does not imply that every operation is active every day. The Panel can update these sections after future meetings as new actions and outcomes are reported.