1:17pm Friday 12th March 2010
By Mhairi Macfarlane
A POLICE team is working with housing associations and tenants to crack-down on anti-social behaviour and drug-dealing.
Sergeant Jonathan Clack, on the Safer Neighbourhood Team for Leyton, said officers have been targeting drug dealers on the Oliver Road estate, anti-social behaviour in Leyton High Road and burglary, as requested by residents at the last police panel meeting.
Sgt Clack said about Oliver Road: “We have been working closely with social housing landlords, having high-visibility patrols and getting intelligence from the local community that can be used to obtain warrants to search addresses.
“People don't like drugs being sold in their area, it is anti-social and not good for the community. And four out of five thefts are drug-related, so by dealing with drug issues it has a bigger impact on other crimes.”
Coronation Gardens in Leyton has also been targeted by police after being becoming a magnet for drug-dealers and violence - as reported by the Guardian last year - with officers often finding knives and drugs hidden in the bushes.
Following complaints from residents, Sgt Clack said extra police patrols were made and the council cut back bushes to reduce the hidden places for people or weapons to hide.
Since then, fewer calls have been received by police and residents have given the police "positive feedback", Sgt Clack said.
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