They say that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery so I am delighted to see the newly selected Conservative candidates for Wanstead are undertaking a survey of local people on the issue of crime.

As Crispin Acton, Neil Hepworth and I have been surveying Wanstead residents since last June on this, and many other issues, we can save the Conservatives the bother and expense of doing all our work again.

To date we’ve received nearly 500 responses to our survey. And our survey said:

Burglary and the lack of a visible police presence in Wanstead Village were the top two concerns.

Car crime and anti-social behaviour came after that.

Drug dealing, including visible incidents in named locations, was the subject of the most detailed information from the public.

We met with the police back in early December to raise these, and other concerns, on behalf of our residents. As we all either grew up in, live in, or work in Wanstead it’s easy for us to work closely with local police and the community to understand what people are worried about.

We were concerned that the Safer Neighbourhood Team for Wanstead Village was suspended last June. We are pleased that consideration is now being given to restoring it and believe that the survey we did helped.

If the Tories are really curious about seeking people’s views on crime in Wanstead, let’s not duplicate work. We’d be happy for them to simply promote all the good work we’ve been doing over the last year. After all, we really have been working for Wanstead “all year round”. 

Scott Wilding

Wanstead Liberal Democrats