Merton Police: There are 'no gangs' in Mitcham

8:00am Tuesday 10th July 2012 in Where I Live By Omar Oakes

Facing the people (L-R): Det Ch Supt Darren Williams (Merton police), Rev Andrew Wakefield (chairman, Merton Community Policing Partnership, and Ged Curran (chief executive, Merton Council) Facing the people (L-R): Det Ch Supt Darren Williams (Merton police), Rev Andrew Wakefield (chairman, Merton Community Policing Partnership, and Ged Curran (chief executive, Merton Council)

Merton’s top policeman has said there are no gangs in Mitcham and warned residents against wrongly labelling youths as criminals – adding “this isn’t Lambeth, Croydon or Southwark*”.

Responding to an allegation, made at a public meeting, about “a gang in Mitcham” which was “smashing up McDonalds”, detective chief superintendent Darren Williams said he was unaware of any gangs in Mitcham.

During a Face the People event at Vestry Hall, Mitcham, on July 5, a resident said: “The gangs are getting bigger and bigger. The safer neighbourhood team is never there to assist.

“You can see them – there are a lot of them and they cause trouble. They throw chairs around.”

D Chief Supt Williams, the borough commander, responded: “It is very easy to label groups of young people, along racial lines, as ‘gangs’.

“You say they are smashing up McDonalds, but I know the manager there well. But I dislike people saying there are gangs in Mitcham because there is a particular issue.

“You might get groups of kids congregating but this isn’t Lambeth, Croydon or Southwark. There are not gangs running around Mitcham.”

The meeting’s chairman, Reverend Andrew Wakefield, praised Mike Smith, the manager of the McDonalds in London Road, Mitcham, who himself has chaired police meetings in Figges’ Marsh Ward.

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Mr Wakefield said: “Out of all the fast food outlets in the borough, the one that is most likely to be working with both the police and the council is that one.

“Mike Smith chairs the neighbourhood panel for the area and it is the best one of those meetings that I have been to.”

* Correction: The original version of this story said 'Sutton' when it should have said 'Southwark' all along. We are happy to correct this and apologise for the confusion.

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Comments(13)

WilliamFigges says...
10:28am Tue 10 Jul 12

Does anyone know what was going on yesterday (Monday 9th July)? In the afternoon a neighbour told me they'd left a betting shop in Streatham Road near Figges Marsh in Mitcham after a gang had come in and started causing trouble. Then yesterday evening at about 20.40 I heard loads of shouting and looked out to see numerous youths, police cars and vans racing across the grass on Figges Marsh with their blue lights flashing, and a little later police officers running around with their batons drawn.

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mr-bjp says...
12:15pm Tue 10 Jul 12

No gangs in Mitcham! So just who are the drunken, drug taking, intimidating yobs that congregate on the stairwells, spitting, urinating and leaving a mess in the flats in Armfield Crescent and Glebe Court?

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kazza76 says...
4:38pm Tue 10 Jul 12

sorry but i lived in mitcham for 9 yrs and i can assure you there is gangs, hang around armfield crescent, phipps bridge, pollards hill etc and tell people otherwise I felt very intimidated by the youths hanging around in mitcham, check out the bandanas hanging out of thier back pockts indicating which gang they belong to.

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sue from cheam says...
5:12pm Tue 10 Jul 12

Are they being deadly serious ????????

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macaroon says...
10:26pm Tue 10 Jul 12

I've got a teenage son who laughed out loud when I read this headline. Is this guy on another planet? Has he never noticed that some of the groups that hang round Phipps Bridge and Pollards Hill wear "colours"?

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tjames says...
5:44am Wed 11 Jul 12

and all the graffiti tags--i suggest the copper walks the streets incognito--he will get a shock

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IamLivid says...
8:43am Wed 11 Jul 12

He sounds like the Iraqi Information Minister, "There are no tanks within 100miles of bagdad"
"There are no gangs in Merton"
The mans a complete arse! Also, 99% of gang members are immigrants, who folks came here to escape persecution, no they persecute innocent people.


https://sites.google
.com/site/londonstre
etgangs/gang-lists/s
outh-london-gangs/te
rrorzone-tz

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WilliamFigges says...
3:35pm Wed 11 Jul 12

Suspect the police are deliberately using a very narrow definition of what constitutes a "gang" - seems they want to play down a problem we all know is real.

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Mulder says...
5:11pm Wed 11 Jul 12

Absolutely laughable that this guy is the borough commander. He should be sacked for making a comment like that.

"If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck."

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Tobermory says...
8:43pm Sat 14 Jul 12

Either the Police are in complete denial or they are trying to mislead the public, I'm not sure which is worse?

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sue from cheam says...
10:24pm Sat 14 Jul 12

He must be living in cloud cuckoo land - what a complete fool looooooooooooool

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Ben78177 says...
5:29pm Sun 15 Jul 12

What lies do they want to tell next! Of course Mitcham has gangs and this is coming from a 15 year old, youths are always in groups causing trouble, All I want people to understand not all of us are those disgusting, spitting individuals some people make us out to be!

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tjames says...
6:56pm Sun 15 Jul 12

and mitcham islamic center is a gang? when was permission given and change of use? also old teachers training center next to eagle house. mcdonut and labor after votes?

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