West Putney police officers told residents last night that they don’t know the cause of a 63% increase in violence in the ward, because they don’t see a breakdown of the figures. The cause, they suggested, was probably domestic violence, which is not something they deal with.
PC Kevin Wakefield, speaking at the ward panel meeting at Granard Primary School, told residents the team had not been aware of the surge. Lee Roberts opened the meeting by presenting the data: 295 violent crimes year-to-date to the end of February, a 35% rise over 12 months, with January alone recording 36 incidents, more than double October 2024’s 16.
“We weren’t privy to it,” Wakefield said. “Violence covers multiple things, including domestics. I would have thought the most plausible explanation is a rise in domestics.”
The system that produced the blind spot is straightforward. Ward officers are told to report only on their three chosen priorities, in three-month windows, and cannot sub-categorise within those priorities. Violence is a priority, but “violence” as a category runs from common assault to GBH to domestic incidents, and the ward team cannot separate them out.
“We’ve been told by our inspector that we’re now only giving figures for the three ward priorities for each ward,” Wakefield said. “The other figures need to be basically sought by members of the public.”
A nine-month surge, outpacing Putney overall (+15%) and Wandsworth borough (+12%), did not appear in their operational picture. “We haven’t seen, we haven’t noticed anything. I would have said it’s actually safe here,” Wakefield said.
The domestic violence question
If the officers are right that domestic abuse is driving the numbers, it raises a question the meeting did not address: who is dealing with it?
Domestic violence is among the least reported crimes in England and Wales. The ward team cannot see the data, because the system does not give it to them.
Wandsworth Council spent four months consulting hundreds of people on how to prevent violence against women and girls, publishing its findings in February. The council’s own review found that frontline workers across housing, health and other services similarly struggle to connect what they see to wider support – and the response was to ask Cabinet to “consider” and “explore”, with no committed budget, no timeline, and no action plan.
The ward SNT cannot see the data. The council has not committed to act. In West Putney, the surge continues.
If you or someone you know is affected by domestic abuse, the National Domestic Abuse Helpline is free, confidential, and available 24 hours a day: 0808 2000 247.
A major arrest, and a warning
There was good news to share. A man described by officers as a major local drugs player has been charged with 10 counts of drug supply and three firearms offences and is in custody awaiting trial. He was operating from Innes Gardens.
The arrest followed months of intelligence-building. Earlier complaints about persistent parking in the area had seemed to go unaddressed. PC Ben Walters explained they were deliberate: “I may have come across a little bit dismissive regarding the parking, but in the grand scheme of things, if we’d have moved him on and enforced the parking, then we would have lost him.”
“Your intelligence that we get in meetings is crucial to us,” he added. “You’re the reason we were able to go out and know where to go.”
The warning followed immediately. A resident reported seeing five or six unfamiliar individuals gathering behind the local shops on Monday evening, with others arriving separately. Officers said that was what they expected. “They’re probably taking over his patch,” Walters noted. “He was a major player. Word’s got out. There’s a gap in West Putney.”
Also at the meeting
Three shoplifters were arrested on Putney High Street last week in a plain-clothes operation, with one charged and remanded. They were working in coordinated groups and were known locally.
The SNT is now at 4 officers, its fullest strength in over a year. Officers being pulled to cover other duties had peaked at over 20 a month last autumn; it is now roughly two or three.
What to do
Resident intelligence helped put the Innes Gardens dealer in prison. The next ward panel is on 30 June 2026 at Granard Primary School, Cortis Road, at 18:30.
To report a crime: 999 in an emergency; 101 for non-emergencies; or online at met.police.uk/ro/report.
To contact West Putney SNT directly: WestPutney@contact.metengage.co.uk or 0208 785 8857. To share intelligence or sign up for local alerts: metengage.co.uk.
Correction: In an earlier version of this article, we wrongly identified the meeting’s coordinator as Ian Roberts. It is, of course, Lee Robert’s.
