West London neighbourhood had 150 antisocial call-outs in three months

By Adrian Zorzut, Local Democracy Reporter

West London neighbourhoods are plagued by antisocial behaviour as the council has revealed officers were called out to more than 150 cases in just three months.

Shepherd’s Bush Green, Ashcroft Square and Margravine cemetery have recorded the highest levels of antisocial behaviour, according to a report from Hammersmith and Fulham council.

The latest figures released by Hammersmith and Fulham found its law enforcement team was called-out to the troubled hot-spots 159 times in the last three months of 2022.

In Shepherd’s Bush Green, officers teamed up with the Met to stop people from smoking crack on residents’ doorsteps and hiding drugs in playgrounds.

The council is installing CCTV, enforcing partial shut-downs of the Green, and carrying out more weapon searches.

Officers have stepped up patrols to three a day and carried out some 700 enforcements in November. That number dipped to 360 in December due to officer not being able to get into work because of strikes and “adverse weather”, the report read.

Across the borough, officials received more than 1,500 call-outs, which the local authority said was mostly resolved “without the need for enforcement”. More complex cases are taking up to a month to resolve.

The council said the uptick in incidents have coincided with forced closure of  Shepherd’s Bush Green.

In recent months the Met has found weapons such as foot-long knives and machetes in the popular green. More than 100 bags of drugs have also been found hidden in the area. Often dog poo bags are used to hide crack cocaine, heroin and cannabis in the park and the police recently found 58 bags of cannabis in the children’s playground on the green.

Residents in Sterne Street, Tadmor Street, Bourbon Lane and Caxton Road, next to the green have seen drug addicts smoking, using needles and defecating on the street – even during the school run. Pictures and videos show people smoking outside residents’ homes and blocking them from being able to enter their properties.

One resident, who did not want to be named for safety reasons, said: “It’s been like living in an episode of The Wire. You get used to seeing people smoking crack on your doorstep. You are bringing kids back from school and they are not able to go into their homes

“Sometimes you just don’t go home. You have to go around the corner to a coffee shop. I thank my lucky stars we have police who are proactive.”

Hammersmith and Fulham law enforcement officer Clifford Pinto said: “Meeting with the residents has helped us to understand what the residents’ concerns are and what the residents want. They want a safer and cleaner area, like everyone else.”

Shepherd’s Bush Green sergeant Thomas Cooke said: “There was so much crime on a weekly basis we had to think of something different. Open spaces should be used for positive experiences not somewhere you can drink, sell or use drugs.

“This area had been entrenched with this kind of problem. You could have up to 40 people drinking, smoking or doing drugs. You would never come here with a child.

“Residents on these streets have really suffered, they have got to feel safe. There are children growing up, looking out the window and seeing people using drugs. It’s not fair. People don’t want to walk home from school or take their dogs out at night. It’s completely unacceptable.”

Picture: Hammersmith and Fulham council building (Picture: Google Street View)