Local parents are petitioning Wandsworth Council to put pressure on schools and police to patrol key areas of the borough following an epidemic of after school muggings of school children by groups of youths, not much older than the victims.

Since launching on 16th October, the e-Petition has been signed by over 1000 people.

There have been frequent reports since September on the local community forum Nextdoor, which covers the areas of Southfields and Earlsfield, highlighting the increasing scale of the problem. One local Mother said her 14 year-old son was mugged on Swaby Road, Earlsfield, by six male youths of a similar age, who took his phone and wallet. The same week, two further incidents were reported in King George’s Park, Wandsworth.  Following the mugging of his thirteen year-old son by a group of male and female youths in school uniform, a concerned Father urged parents to advise their children to “avoid the park after 4pm”. 

In response to these recent spate of robberies in the borough, Wandsworth Police and Council issued a joint statement saying that they shared the concerns of parents and the community and that they were taking these crimes “very seriously”. They said: “a proactive police robbery team are on the case, and are working hard behind the scenes to identify these offenders. Police have increased patrols by Safer Schools and Safer Neighbourhoods officers in the areas affected and the council is working closely with the police and local schools involved ”.

The Police have advised to keep “airpods and mobile phones” out of site, as these are the items most commonly stolen. They recommended that any muggings should be reported to the Police or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 “as soon as possible”.

Alex Buchanan