1,000 signatures reached
To: Dawn Butler to address with Metropolitan Police
Repeated sexual assaults in Willesden Green area - Residents demand action
More police presence in Willesden Green area following a spate of sexual assaults.
Why is this important?
The undersigned residents of Willesden Green are writing to you to demand your urgent attention to the increasing issue of sexual assaults on women in our area.
Last year there were a spate of linked sexual assaults in the Mapesbury and Brondesbury areas on women leaving the tube station in Willesden Green. Whether it was a policing operational concern or a failure of communication, we were shocked to learn of this issue only after there had been 15 or 16 linked incidents. Only then did the authorities deem it necessary to notify local people of the danger. Our understanding is this figure is now much higher.
We are aware there have been, what police believe is, a significant arrest in relation to these crimes in December 2018. However, since that time there have been a number of other recent sexual assaults on women in the area – the most recent of which happened at 11.30am on Monday 11th of March on Churchill Road, NW2. We are aware the police do not believe this is linked to the larger spate of assaults from last year.
We have many crime related issues in our area but, as a group, the greatest concern is around this level of sexual assaults on lone women. Indeed, when Willesden Green Residents Association distributed leaflets at Willesden Green tube station in November 2018 to warn the public about the increasing frequency of these recent attacks – we were inundated with stories of sexual attacks and harassment from women leaving the tube.
We understand there is an going plain-cloths presence in the area. However, the Willesden Green ward currently only has one PC – having recently lost both a PCSO and a second Ward PC. We have been told there will be a second PC next month but the PCSO will not be replaced. We all understand the political atmosphere around austerity and budget cuts but we fear the situation in Willesden Green has become perilous and we are not being listened to. We need a police presence in Willesden Green that is visible and an active deterrent to the issues which have now become critical and need to be addressed by you – our elected official – as a matter of the upmost urgency.
It is shameful that in 2019, women have to walk home in fear of attack because male perpetrators feel able to carry out attacks with impunity. No parent, sibling, friend, husband or wife should fear for their loved ones walking on their own either by day or night.
We demand action and we demand it now !
Yours sincerely,
Willesden Green Residents Association (WGRA)
Last year there were a spate of linked sexual assaults in the Mapesbury and Brondesbury areas on women leaving the tube station in Willesden Green. Whether it was a policing operational concern or a failure of communication, we were shocked to learn of this issue only after there had been 15 or 16 linked incidents. Only then did the authorities deem it necessary to notify local people of the danger. Our understanding is this figure is now much higher.
We are aware there have been, what police believe is, a significant arrest in relation to these crimes in December 2018. However, since that time there have been a number of other recent sexual assaults on women in the area – the most recent of which happened at 11.30am on Monday 11th of March on Churchill Road, NW2. We are aware the police do not believe this is linked to the larger spate of assaults from last year.
We have many crime related issues in our area but, as a group, the greatest concern is around this level of sexual assaults on lone women. Indeed, when Willesden Green Residents Association distributed leaflets at Willesden Green tube station in November 2018 to warn the public about the increasing frequency of these recent attacks – we were inundated with stories of sexual attacks and harassment from women leaving the tube.
We understand there is an going plain-cloths presence in the area. However, the Willesden Green ward currently only has one PC – having recently lost both a PCSO and a second Ward PC. We have been told there will be a second PC next month but the PCSO will not be replaced. We all understand the political atmosphere around austerity and budget cuts but we fear the situation in Willesden Green has become perilous and we are not being listened to. We need a police presence in Willesden Green that is visible and an active deterrent to the issues which have now become critical and need to be addressed by you – our elected official – as a matter of the upmost urgency.
It is shameful that in 2019, women have to walk home in fear of attack because male perpetrators feel able to carry out attacks with impunity. No parent, sibling, friend, husband or wife should fear for their loved ones walking on their own either by day or night.
We demand action and we demand it now !
Yours sincerely,
Willesden Green Residents Association (WGRA)
