In the past few weeks we had a rise in theft from cars to the east of Newham around Little Ilford ward and a rise in mobile phone snatches by men on bicycles around Canning Town and Beckton.

We committed additional resources to these areas resulting in two significant arrests. In both cases those arrested were charged and remain in custody. Since then these crime types have dropped dramatically in these areas.

Both of these issues highlight the opportunistic nature of offenders who wander around looking for unattended vehicles containing valuable items or in the case of the snatches expensive phones that are stolen within a second. In both cases property is sold to generate cash.

I urge the public to remove such items from the sight of passers-by. If you can see it so can they!

If you need to use your phone in public be aware of your environment. If you are leaving a train station or a shop it is safer to make the call before you leave such premises that are usually under quality CCTV assessment. We are now approaching the autumn, a period which experiences higher levels of burglary across the country.

Again many offenders are opportunists and simple steps to improve your security can assist in reducing the risks.

Please speak to your dedicated ward officers who will be able to provide some simple advice or refer you to more specialist advisors.

I recently attended a meeting held by the Monega Residents’ Association where an independent security company offered prevention advice that was well received.

Most crime types are falling but together as a community we can drive this further down and make Newham an even safer place to live, work or visit. More from Tony Nash