Major Public meeting with Commander Dominic Clout, head of Camden Police plus a speaker from the anti-terrorist branch. 6.30pm 4th May Pax Lodge, Lyndhurst Road. Listen r and ask!

Commander Clout and his team are very active in the whole of Camden.  There are dedicated Safer Neighborhood Teams with intimate knowledge of Camden.

Some are uniformed some in plain clothes. In Hampstead there has been considerable success with defeating criminal activity especially with ATM's with false fronts, 'Lebanese loops' and card theft.The Camden spectrum is wide with different problems with crime, burglary, robbery, assaults, anti-social behaviour and other disruptive activities.

Safer Neighbourhood panels consist of a wide range of residential and business representatives who give their time voluntarily and meet regularly. Such meetings consist of gatherings with the  Police and lay members. The panels have the role in  to recommending specific actions to the Police teams.

There have been several types of ATM crimes: A well known one is the false front. Even (we hear) the experts from the bank were surprised at the 'quality'. One  had a mobile phone camera hidden in it so the PIN could be tranmitted 'down the road'. A favourite trick is to get the card stuck using a loop or tape. The owner goes inside the bank to complain. The card is  removed and whizzed down the road. The PIN being transnmitted, allows  instant withdrawl. In Hampstead there are a lot of bank branches in close proximity - hence it's easier to do a quick withdrawal.  Watch it!