Stolen cash made worthless by a hidden glue and dye soiling device. Photo: Met Police.

An automatic glue and dye spoiling technology making transit van robbery cash unusable led to the arrests in Deptford and Old Bailey convictions of three men who robbed a G4S delivery to Lloyds TSB in Southwark Park Road in January last year.

It started with a G4S worker being pushed from behind and knocked off balance. The cash box was grabbed by a robber who ran off towards Ambrose Street. The Old Bailey heard less than an hour later, five men including Amponsah, Ocaya and Collins were seen getting out of a white transit van in a car park in Watergate Street, Deptford.

Ocaya take the security cash box from the back of the van and placed it on the floor. The men then forced open the box but this only activated the hidden glue and dye device and in an instant all the money inside became worthless.

Plain clothes police officers moved in to make arrests.

Detective Constable Lee Davison, of the Flying Squad, said: “The outcome of this investigation represents a determined effort by Flying Squad officers and our partners in the cash in transit industry, to apprehend those responsible, and bring them to justice.”

“Unfortunately for these men the glue technology deployed in this cash box rendered the money useless and due to the quick work of our officers they were arrested,” he said.

Detective Superintendent Nick Stevens, from the Flying Squad, said: “The conviction should assist in deterring other criminals who think that committing cash in transit robberies are a quick and easy way to get cash. This latest technology is a new weapon in the fight against cash-in-transit robberies and adds to the Flying Squad’s already excellent partnership work with the industry which has seen the number of such robberies consistently fall significantly year on year. ”

Daniel Collins found guilty of robbery. Photo: Met Police

Gavin Windsor, Risk Director at G4S, confirmed the significant fall in cash robberies: “A contributing factor is the close working relationship that the security industry has with the Met to tackle crime. The shared intelligence and continued introduction of new technology means that the chances of being caught and convicted are higher than ever. It’s particularly pleasing to see from this case how the recently-introduced glue solution in cash boxes ensures that any money stolen becomes completely unusable for the criminal, effectively removing any reward for committing cash in transit CIT crime.”

Baffour Amponsah & Brian Ocaya. Photo: Met Police

Baffour Amponsah, 25, of Reigate Road pleaded guilty to robbery at an earlier hearing. Brian Ocaya, 28, of Southwark Park Road and Daniel Collins, 28, of Clifton Road have been found guilty of robbery. All three men are expected to be sentenced Wednesday 23 May.

The Surrey Heights Casting at Shoosh, Croydon Photo: Max Owens

Aimee Butcher, 22, of Croydon has proposed a reality TV series to showcase the diversity and talent in Croydon. The auditions for the show took place for almost a week, and with some 5,000 applicants, the judging panel saw hundreds of auditionees daily.

Aimee told us about her ideas for wanting to create the show and gave us the exclusive on the casting process:

Aimee Butcher, 22 – Surrey Heights Producer tells all.

The judging panel included Aimee, the brains behind the idea for the show, and two other Croydon residents: Josh Stutter who lives on an estate in Croydon, and Joey Maxwell-Simbo. They talked about looking for people with a unique story who will help present the best that Croydon has to offer.

Joey spoke about looking to present both sides of Croydon – the haves and the have nots; to show that Croydon like any other London borough boasts a spectrum of wealth and diversity. Josh, like Joey, was looking for someone “exciting” who he could feel would make good viewing.

It was reported that the casting team for the Surrey Height show were not only looking for “chavs”. After four full days of casting the judging panel expressed a little bit of disappointment at not having seen a single “Croydon facelift”. But they assured us at East London Lines that the search continues as they want to show all the faces and sides of Croydon and put the “real” back into “Reality TV”.

East London Lines spoke to some of the hopefuls who came to show off their unique qualities to the panel of judges.

Joe Hagan and Jordan Rhodes

"Chocolate Orange"

Jordan Rhodes, 21, from Oxted, Surrey – sounds pretty lively but didn’t seem so sure about why she should be on the show. We believe in you Jordan!

Joe Hagan, 21, was the only person to turn up at the auditions accompanied by a manager. Definitely came across as a serious contender.

Double act CourtneyDee Thompson, 21, and Alix Beadon, 19, gave a huge dose of the bright characters – also known as Chocolate Orange. The duo are Croydon girls born and bred, got their excitement across to be auditioning and taking the opportunity to do something new and fun:

The series itself has not yet been commissioned by a television channel, but the project has attracted both media and public attention across London, and nationwide with coverage in the Evening Standard and The Sun.

The making of the series is being filmed by Mentorn Media – Danni Davis from the production company spoke to East London Lines about why they are following Aimee’s story as she brings the project to life:

In the words of the producer Aimee Butcher – “watch this space”.

Additional reporting and production by Maxwell Owens

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Dogs in the Parks. Advice and guidance from Hackney Council

Dog owners in Hackney are facing more criticism for the behaviour of their pets, and not just around humans, but around trees.

Hackney council is urging owners to be vigilant, after an increase in the amount of  “irreversible damage” to trees caused by dogs over the last couple of years.

There is particular concern around the biting and scratching of tree trunks, and for branches being pulled and broken off for dogs to bite.  ”Wounds” to a tree can leave it vulnerable to infection and prevent sap flowing to the shoots and leaves, eventually killing the tree.

The council describes the cost of removing and replacing damaged trees as “huge”. Last year, it fenced in 29 trees in Hackney Downs, where it claims the problem is particularly bad.

Councillor Jonathan McShane, Hackney Council’s Cabinet Member for Health, Social Care and Culture, says:

“Some dog owners may believe they are doing their pet good by exercising their jaws, teeth or claws and not realise the long term damage they are doing to the trees. As well as affecting their individual appearance, if trees are cut down, it ruins the patterns of well established trees that have been growing for decades. I urge all dog owners to act responsibly with their dogs and consider how their actions can harm the environment.”

It comes less than a year after the council announced it was bringing in new Dog Control Orders, similar to Anti-Social Behaviour Orders for humans. These include “dog exclusion” orders, where dogs are completely banned, as well as “dogs on leads” orders, which would prevent owners from letting their dogs off leads in certain areas.

Under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, Local Authorities have the power to serve orders to tackle dog-related issues. This includes owners who don’t pick up their dog’s mess, for which there is an £80 fixed penalty, with a maximum fine of £1,000 if prosecuted.

The Dog Control Orders (DCOs) came into force in April this year, but have been criticised because of a lack of enforcement; without a warden or police presence in the park, the council relies on members of the public to report bad behaviour.

However, Hackney council insists that officers will spend more time on the streets enforcing the DCOs, and is also offering free training sessions to promote responsible dog ownership, in partnership with the Dogs Trust.

The Darling Dog Company runs group classes and workshops

Louise Glazebrook is a dog behaviourist and trainer, who also owns The Darling Dog Company. She regularly runs training classes on responsible dog ownership with the Dogs Trust in London:

Responsible dog ownership in the capital is becoming a more contentious issue in light of new tougher sentencing guidelines for owners of dangerous dogs. The Sentencing Council, who issued the guidelines just days ago, says more offenders “will face jail sentences”.

It adds:

“More will get community orders and fewer will receive discharge… It will also help courts make the best use of their powers so that irresponsible owners who put the public at risk can be banned from keeping dogs, genuinely dangerous dogs can be put down, and compensation can be paid to victims.”

The new guidelines also mean that the class of “vulnerable victim” will now include elderly people and those with disabilities, as well as children. Typically the maximum jail sentence for allowing an animal to cause injury is 12 months, but the new guidelines recommend 18 months.

This follows a series of high-profile dog attacks in recent years, including the case of John-Paul Massey, aged 4, and Barbara Williams, aged 52, who both died from their injuries.

East London Lines spoke to dog owners in Hackney to find out what they thought of the new, tougher sentences:

The new sentencing guidelines will come into full effect from 20th August.

Hackney Council is running a number of ‘Responsible Dog Ownership Training Sessions‘ across the borough.

For more information on dog control and animal services:

The Hackney Animal Warden Service: 020 8356 6688

Dogs Trust City Dogs Hotline: 07539 863407

For more information relating to Dog Control Orders: 020 8356 4839

Dog exclusion orders considered by council

Man whose dog killed a woman avoids jail

Locals torn over dangerous out-and-about dogs in Lewisham

Dogs Trust teaches city youths about dog training

Woman charged for out of control dangerous dog

Cultural Olympiad Arts Council Photo: Alex Adey

Top cultural projects from across the East London Lines boroughs are among those driving forward the Cultural Olympiad.

Organisations from across London last week showcased their contributions to the summer of arts and showed how important the London 2012 Olympic Games will be to the capital’s culture, at an Arts Council event at the Museum of London.

Young Ambassadors

The Geffrye Museum in Hackney are opening their doors to Young Ambassadors in the borough and beyond. The Stories of the World has been running for three years and gives young people the opportunity to contribute ideas on how the museum is run and visit local schools to spread the word about exhibitions and the project.

East London Lines spoke to Vanessa Whybell, assistant education officer for the project, and Shaun who has been a Young Ambassador since the project started:

At Home With the World is now on at the Geffrye Museum. The exhibition explores living rooms from around the globe. It is free and runs until Sunday September 9.

Contemporary Anthropologists

Forest Hill’s Horniman Museum is also participating in the Stories of the World. The Body Adorned is an expansive photographic project, for which the curator trained a group of young people to become ‘contemporary anthropologists’.

Horniman’s Assistant Director Curatorial, Finbarr Whooley, told East London Lines that the exhibition asked the photographers working across London to find different ways in which the body is dressed and adorned.

The Body Adorned is free and runs at the Horniman Museum until January 2013.

Cultural Olympiad Bus Stops Photo: Alex Adey

LED Bus Shelters

If from the top deck of a bus you peer down upon a piece of LED artwork, you are looking at the brainchild of Alfie Dennen.

Bus-Tops are appearing on top of bus shelters across the capital and have locations across all East London Lines boroughs. It is one of twelve commissions forming Artists Taking the Lead, a programme funded by Arts Council England. The project is a collaboration between established artists and members of the public, who can also submit designs for the innovative exhibition spaces.

Dennen told East London Lines that he hopes as well as surprising bus users, the displays will generate Olympic fun with Bus-Top Pong:

Bus-Tops also works with the Arts Awards, which provides courses and activites for schools and young people that contribute towards nationally recognised arts qualifications, for example NVQs.

Dennen explained that through the scheme you can complete a Bust-Top Bronze award, he said: “11-24 year olds can spend a day’s workshop looking at how the screens work, how artists have used them, creating work for the screens, and then actually exhibiting them.”

International Collaboration

Heart ‘N’ Soul is coming out of the Albany Theatre in Deptford. The creative arts company focuses on learning disability culture and offers a range of opportunities for people to take part, train in a new skill or develop their artistic talents. For the Cultural Olympiad, they are presenting a 72 member strong international music collaboration called the Dean Rodney Singers.

The project is being curated by autistic artist Dean Rodney, after the idea came to him in a dream. All the songs are being created on iPad apps by band members across the world. The aim is to create a space where disabled and non-disabled artists and musicians can work on an audio-visual installation in time for the 2012 Paralympic Games.

Sandra Reynolds from Heart ‘N’ Soul told East London Lines how it will work:

Poetry Slam

The Albany Theatre is also hosting a poetry slam organised by one of the country’s foremost poetry organisations. Apples and Snakes are working on a nationwide project called Shake The Dust which will see poets and writers going to schools to collaborate with young people to produce poetry for the  slam. The London regional finals will be at the Albany Theatre on the 16 June and the Southbank Centre hosts the national final between July 5-8.

Miriam Nash, producer of the project, said that Shake The Dust will bring together poetry programmes from around the country to create something that can continue nationally after 2012. She also told East London Lines that the project is not just aiming to get more young people writing poetry.

Daniel Morgan murdered in Sydenham in March 1987. Photo: Met Police

A joint Metropolitan Police and Crown Prosecution Service report into the latest collapse of a trial of people accused of murdering private detective Daniel Morgan, 37,  in the car park of the Golden Lion pub, Sydenham, 1987, has highlighted failures to disclose evidence and mistakes in the handling of “supergrass witnesses.”

Daniel Morgan died from having an axe embedded in his skull. His killing 25 years ago remains one of the most notorious unsolved murder inquiries in the history of the Met.

Allegations of police corruption along with issues arising out of the Leveson Inquiry concerning the conduct of people hired by the former sunday newspaper, the News of the World, have mired the case in controversy.

Justice for Daniel campaign web site run by his brother Alastair Morgan.

Morgan’s brother Alastair has long campaigned for “Justice for Daniel.” He believes he was killed because he was about to expose police corruption. His brother’s former partner was one of three men acquitted at the Central Criminal Court in March last year,

The 147 page report recommends 17 reforms in practice and outlines a narrative of six separate police criminal investigations focusing on Daniel Morgan’s murder:  ”In the last twenty years over sixty people have been arrested, (some individuals more than once), twelve were for murder.” Yet not one person has been found guilty. It is estimated that £50 million have been spent on investigations and inquiries connected with the crime.

The purpose of the report was to identify “good practice and learning points that police officers and prosecutors could benefit from in the future.”  The review was not set up to “investigate allegations of corruption, nor was it intended to serve the purpose of an investigation for police disciplinary purposes.”

Joint Metropolitan Police and Crown Prosecution Review in Operation Abelard II

The review also recommended “improvements in the archiving of police material and the control and direction of the investigation and prosecution.”

The report’s publication offers little comfort to Daniel’s brother Alastair and his family who had a meeting with prosecutors today. Alastair and his family have been reported as seeking a judicial public inquiry into what went wrong with the case and fear nobody will ever be brought to justice for what happened.

Scotland Yard has admitted the first inquiry into the killing was affected by police corruption.

Alastair Morgan says the report produced today did not tell him anything he did not know already and that he had used the meeting to outline the serious matters that had gone on in the past. He would not be giving up the fight for justice.

The wife of one of the senior investigating officers in the 2002 inquiry into Daniel Morgan’s murder, Jacqui Hanes, gave evidence at the Leveson Inquiry in February this year and alleged that she and her husband had been placed under surveillance by the now defunct News of the World newspaper: “Any reasonable person would find it very difficult not to put them together and feel that in some way there was some collusion between people at the News of the World and people who were suspected of the murder of Daniel Morgan.”

The Home Secretary, Theresa May, said she would consider the demand for a judicial inquiry into the murder case on receipt of the joint Met Police & CPS report into what had gone wrong with the last failed prosecution. The victim’s family say she is now in a position to comply with their request.

Alastair Morgan interviewed by ITV news after meeting prosecutors following release of the review report.

A joint statement published today from Cressida Dick, Assistant Commissioner Metropolitan Police Service, and Alison Saunders,Chief Crown Prosecutor of CPS London said: ”This case, as the trial judge said, was of an exceptional scale and complexity, with over three quarters of a million documents gathered over 20 years being examined. The issues around the disclosure exercise were such that we could not guarantee that all relevant material had been identified, considered and disclosed so as to ensure a fair trial. A further factor related to the unreliability of critical witnesses.”

Access road for proposed site, pic AP

Plans for a Sainsbury’s mega-store just off Stoke Newington Church Street  are to be scaled down after a vociferous local campaign which included a ‘zombie-a-thon’ through the area last October.

The original plan would have required the demolition of Victorian houses on the High Street to allow for traffic in and out of a large underground car park.  Local traders were concerned about the possible effect on the vibrant independent retail sector.

Johnny Rodriguez, who works at The Fisheries fishmonger nearby, told ELL  that  small businesses were already under pressure:

“Business is diminishing due to the recession. Having a ‘one stop shop’ here would just make it worse. We would struggle. We would probably have to cut down on staff and on the amount of fish we stock.”

According to property developers Newmark, in the new plans the retail space will be reduced by 30% and the housing will be increased to “include family sized units” with a mix of “affordable” homes.

The “300″ delivery vehicles per day that were expected to wend their way along Stoke Newington Church St and turn into the narrow entrance of Wilmer Place (just opposite William Patten primary school) are to be reduced to 30 vehicles per day and the size of the trucks will also be reduced.

The developers have organised an exhibition of the the proposals on site at 195-201 Stoke Newington High Street, N16 OLH on Tuesday 29th May between 12pm and 8pm.

Stokey Local, the campaign established to fight the original plans, have cautiously welcomed the news. According to local organiser, John Page:

“Stokey Local will be calling a meeting in the next couple of weeks to discuss whether we feel the changes make this proposal acceptable, or whether we need to organise to ensure our voices are heard.

He also called on local people to: “Pass this message on to neighbours and let’s ensure that the developer knows that this community cares about developments in the community.”

View the plans on Tuesday 29th May between 12pm and 8pm at 195-201 Stoke Newington High Street, N16 OLH

Ten years as the directly elected Mayor of Lewisham, Sir Steve Bullock. Photo: Delores William

The Mayor of Lewisham, Sir Steve Bullock, has just celebrated ten years as Lewisham’s first directly elected mayor. In an interview with East London Lines, he says “that, of course, there have been difficult days but the good far outweigh the bad.”

Looking back on his time in office, the formation of the Young Mayor of Lewisham, was one of his highlights. The scheme started eight years ago and gives young people a chance to get involved with local politics and make decisions on issues that affect their area.

Bullock is proud of the scheme, and is still in touch with the first young mayor, Manny Hawks 2004-5, and last year’s young mayor, Kieran Lang 2011-12,  is now studying at university.

Lewisham was the first mayoral authority to hold elections for a Youth Mayor and the initiative has won national acclaim.

Bullock passionately believes that the future of democracy at any level means that it has to engage young people, and the young need to be directly involved.

The challenge of modern local government is that most of the money and power in decision-making  is drawn from the Westminster Parliament, government departments and European Union institutions.

It is easily forgotten that it was local councils that pioneered sanitation, health, education, welfare, improved housing, and even votes for women.

Lewisham is one of only three London Boroughs with a directly elected Mayor. There are 16 in total across the country.

Lewisham’s referendum giving the thumbs up for a directly elected Mayor in 2001 was won by a whisker. A margin of 2% and 908 votes and a turn-out of only 18% of the electorate. Local democracy is continually fighting apathy, complacency, and a perception that in the 21st century it does not make any difference.

Mayor Bullock may be a Knight of the Realm, one of the most widely respected figures in British local government, but longevity in office and any power he wields has left no trace of the pompous or sense of standing on ceremony.

For the interview, he was the usual down-to-earth, “Steve the Mayor”, looking relaxed in his busy office, open-neck shirt, and no self-aggrandizing as the former van driver made good from Redcar, in North Yorkshire so often written in profiles about him.

But he didn’t start out in private road transport. He was driving for the local urban district council. The atmosphere in the Mayor’s office could be described as progressive and busy politeness.

Lewisham Borough Coat of Arms. Its motto means "The Welfare of the People is the first great Law."

There’s work to be done, and it’s not that easy to find the borough’s Coat of Arms, bearing all the pageantry of tradition and history, and a Latin motto “Salus Populi Suprema Lex”, that means the welfare of the people is the first great law.

Mayor Bullock was a policy advisor to Ken Livingstone, in the run up to the 2012 London Mayoral Elections. They are political colleagues going back a long way, and developed the ‘Fare’s Fair’ policy of the former Greater London Council that was challenged in the courts and frustrated by conservative central government.

Labour did well on May 3 this year, but Bullock does not need reminding that its London Mayoral candidate lost spectacularly against the national swing.

When East London Lines asked him why he thought Livingstone had failed he quickly got to the point: “Ken is about 10 years older than the mayor”, and he believes that “he could not get his point across because he is a pensioner.”

The Mayor thinks that Livingstone still has a lot to offer, but sends a warning to other politicians. The challenge is to  ”know when the electorate have had enough of you.”

Despite Livingstone announcing his retirement, Bullock does not think we have seen the last of the former London Mayor.

He says he does not think he needs to learn Livingstone’s lesson yet: “It’s up to my colleagues and the electorate on how long I stay in office.”

Summer riots 2011. Photo: East London Lines

The riots in the summer of 2011 were the worst experience. He had been on holiday and arrived back on the first day of the riots. He believes it’s important that everyone remembers that the majority of rioters  were not just young people. In his words “This was about people who frankly should have known better up to, and including pensioners.”

The disappointment is still clearly there, but so are his heroes of the day. He praised the street cleaners, who get up early most working days. But on the morning after the riots they were up extra early for the clean up; so early in fact that when residents came to help they were thanked and told to go home as the clean-up had already been completed.

Bullock finds the financial cutbacks, and the fierce criticism that he faced over the closure of five libraries a constant disappointment.  He says  that “watching some of the good works  undone after spending the last ten years  building them up was particularly hard.”

Bullock stresses that he “can’t fix the economy of  Europe” but he can try and help Lewisham get through this very difficult time.

Lewisham Library

He praised the communities that have helped keep the local libraries open and  turned them into meeting hubs . Despite the economic woes of the country and the borough, he is still very proud of The Deptford Lounge, and the refurbishment of the swimming pool in Forest Hill.

Bullock has not found it easy getting them updated, but feels his persistence and tenacity has seen the pools renovation come to fruition.  The pool in  Forest Hill has kept its Victorian frontage, and inside it has been updated to a state of the art building which includes a café, gym and space for other community events.

The Mayor is getting excited about the upcoming celebrations for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee happening across the borough. There have been over sixty applications for street parties and he believes that Lewisham residents have topped all other boroughs in enthusiasm and community solidarity. He feels  proud that as a community in times of trouble they are able to unite together for such celebrations.

Lewisham- a population of about 250,000 and a Mayor determined to improve its housing provision.

As for crime in the area, figures are down. The Mayor is in full support of Operation Trilogy, a Metropolitan Police led initiative aimed at gang distruption. Operation Trilogy provides a proactive response to tackling gun and drug related criminality.

He feels that the past ten years have shown him to be a good mayor, but he also accepts that the next ten years will hold fresh and new challenges for him.

At the end of the interview he emphasized that the biggest challenge remains providing more homes for people living in the borough. There is a critical shortage exacerbated by rent inflation, and the failure of the banking system and private housing market to make home ownership a reality for people on low and middle incomes.

Lewisham Mayor Steve Bullock tells us his predictions for 2012

Lewisham’s eighth Young Mayor is revealed

Five public libraries axed in council cuts meeting

“The end of local government as we know it” says Mayor, as Lewisham cuts package approved

Mayor deeply concerned about youth killings

British Transport Police would like to speak to the man featured in these CCTV images. Photos: BTP

British Transport Police are trying to trace a man suspected of whipping
a woman’s hand with his dog’s lead on a train at Catford Bridge station.

The incident took place on Sunday, April 4 at 11.21 p.m. on the London Bridge to Hayes service.

PC Keef Cook, the investigating officer, said that the victim, 31, from Beckenham, had been travelling with her boyfriend when they noticed a man playing loud music: “The woman’s boyfriend approached the man, who was accompanied by a pit-bull type dog, and politely asked him to turn down his music.

“Heated words were exchanged, and seconds later, as the train pulled into Catford Bridge station, the man flicked his dog chain at the woman, whipping her hand.”

Catford Bridge Station. Image: Google Street View

“The victim suffered minor bruising as a result and was left clearly shaken by what had taken place, ” he said.

PC Cook said that officers have made local enquiries, including viewing CCTV from the train and at the station, and circulating images on police intelligence systems, but are now calling on the public’s help to identify the man pictured:

The officer asks: “Do you know or recognise this man? Were you travelling on the train when the incident happened? If so, we urge you to come forward and speak to us.”

British Transport Police say incidents of this kind are rare on the network, but they “take them very seriously and will do everything we can to catch the man responsible.”

Anyone with information about the incident should contact British Transport Police on Freefone 0800 40 50 40 and quote reference B6/LSA of 11/5/12. Alternatively, call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner meeting South London Business in Croydon

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe offered his apologies for what the people and businesses of Croydon had gone through during last summer’s riots. He was visiting Croydon Park Hotel and outlined his force’s plans in the years ahead as part of the “Promoting Business and Tackling Crime Conference.”

He told his audience: “We have arrested 3,000 and we are still taking people out. My officers have been and are examining a quarter of a million hours of CCTV.”

He explained that the numbers of police officers and police community support officers had dropped because new funding to boost policing for the London Olympics did not come through until about 6 weeks ago: “We couldn’t recruit people we could not afford to pay.”

The forthcoming passing out parade will involve a full complement of 500 officers and he said they along with CSPOs are much better trained than they have been in the past.

The event was hosted by South London Business, ”a business development company set up to support and promote business, enhance regeneration, reduce unemployment and up-skill the work force.”

Around 50 representatives attended Monday May 14 to consider potential changes in the number of police officers and security for their businesses.

Hogan-Howe received questions from the audience after his presentation and many related to last year’s riots- a catastrophic event of which Croydon was a high profile and high cost casualty.

The consensus of concern communicated through the questions was a desire to make sure nothing like it happened again.

His apology and explanation of why police numbers in Croydon had dropped was elicited after a question from the meeting Chair Deva Ponnoosami:

Arsonist jailed for Croydon blaze

BBC poll shows Croydon and Hackney residents still feel unsafe in many areas hit by 2011 riots

170 Families are Needed pic: Heidi Gao

The Foster Care Fortnight initiative in Tower Hamlets, has revealed a crisis shortfall. in the number of children needing foster parents and the families willing and able to look after them. A child goes into care every 22 minutes and the “Time to Care” campaign aims to encourage more people to become foster parents.

Over 65,000 children in Britain are currently in foster care. In Tower Hamlets, over 300 children need fostering each year, but there only around 130 fostering families. The council has responded with the running of information sessions across the borough to help raise the public’s awareness.

Emdad Talukdar, 57, is a Tower Hamlets community resource officer and foster parent. Sharing his own experiences of fostering at the Whitechapel Idea store this week, he told East London Lines about the commitment becoming a foster parent requries.

He said: “You have to have love and affection for somebody else’s child. You have to have a place in your heart for a child who is not your own.”

Talukdar and his wife have cared for 10 children over the last 14 years and he says they have brought them a lot of happiness. He says that foster families are helped financially by the authorities but like all new parents, foster carers have to learn new skills:

Talukdar outlines the responsibilities of being a foster parent:  ”My main role is to keep the records, take the child to the hospital, or doctor appointments, or contacting the social services for further advice and other things. But my wife, she does the main thing: cooking, cleaning, taking the child to school and back from school. So it’s a joint role, we share this role between husband and wife.”

In addition, Talukdar emphasised that fostering is not just a family role but a joint role within the whole community.

Talukdar says the walfare of the children is the top priority and the social services team in Tower Hamlets goes to great efforts to find families from the same culture or religion as the children.

For more information about Foster Care Fortnight and the fostering policies, visit the Fostering Network. To find out about attending a fostering workshop or helping to support National Foster Care Week in Tower Hamlets, contact Moustapha Bennadi on 020 7364 5432 or visit Fostering and Adoption