ISSUE NUMBER 58 SEnine


media attention during the recent riots. JOHN WEBB spoke to borough police commander Richard Wood.


Eltham


The riots and looting across the country have left some Eltham businesses counting the cost of damage and theft.


Borough Commander Richard Wood admitted to SEnine that the police were taken unawares on the fi rst day of widespread disorder across London.


He said: “We had no information that there was going to be a problem in Eltham. On the Monday afternoon there were disturbances in Charlton and disorder in Woolwich, so all the resources we had available were diverted there.”


He said the force was stretched and were unable to respond in the normal way when Eltham came under attack in the evening.


The major response involving hundreds of police on subsequent nights, some from forces in Wales, East Anglia and the Midlands, was to underline the message that the police had control of the streets.


He said: “I wanted everybody to be clear that there was no need for anyone to come and protect the town. The proper response is for the police to deal with disorder and there is no place for vigilantes.”


Commander Wood was keen to play down the extent of loss and damage caused to Eltham traders.


The worst aff ected shops were Argos, which suff ered a substantial loss of electrical items, jewellery and other stock.


Simon Marks Jewellers, also in Passey Place, Totally Independent


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Editor:


John Webb editor@senine.co.uk


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received its fair share of national


were the victims of substantial damage and loss of stock. Laura C Jewellers in Well Hall Road also lost around £15,000 of jewellery in less than two minutes.


Other shops in Westmount Road suff ered minor damage and thefts during the evening.


Some outlets, including Poundland, sought to protect their shops from possible trouble by boarding their windows.


Substantial numbers of young people massed in Eltham on Tuesday, the night following the attacks, with the largely well- intentioned objective of protecting the town because of the absence of police the night before.


But, according to Mr Wood, there had been few problems other than the sporadic throwing of bottles. The rumours circulating on Facebook and Twitter of possible clashes between ‘supporters’ of Millwall, the English Defence League and rioters hadn’t materialised, said Mr Wood.


A number of youths who were heading towards Lewisham had been persuaded by police on the ground to disperse, he said.


Offi cers were now spending hours sifting through CCTV recordings of aff ected shops in an attempt to identify those responsible and large amounts of stolen goods had been recovered.


Mr Wood said that the police’s main priority had been to bring off enders to the courts but in due course there would be a review of what improvements might be made on future occasions.


He said that Eltham had been magnifi ed by the widespread media attention although


Cover: The Eletriq Cafe on the High Street.


Picture by: Mark Wall 24/08/2011 - Canon 600D - f10, 1/250, ISO 100


Cameo: Matt Dawson, Rugby Star, visits Eltham Story page 6


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this had not been mirrored by the extent of problems on the ground.


The operation on Wednesday August 10, when a smaller number of young people came for a second night didn’t amount to a police ‘kettling’ operation said Mr Wood.


Although youths had been diverted away from the High Street by a large number of offi cers, they had been free to leave.


He said: “It’s not helpful for young people to be on the streets trying to help. That’s the police’s job and I was determined that there would be a suffi ciently large presence in the town to make this very clear.”


The police had received a number of letters of thanks from the public, including one which was posted onto the notice board of Eltham Police Station by a person or persons unknown.


SEPTEMBER 2011 by John Webb


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