The 43 officers are of ranks from constable to detective chief superintendent, and represent four of the many police teams who were on the streets at the height of the criminality.
They were awarded for their courage and commitment by acting Metropolitan Police Service Commissioner Tim Godwin at a ceremony in south London yesterday afternoon.
Of the officers’ actions, Godwin said: “While these commendations focus on the courageous and selfless actions of these few, it’s important to remember that they’re representative of the many more thousands of officers who put themselves very literally in harm’s way during the disorder to protect our city.”
He continued: “I’m enormously proud of each and every one of them, and London should be, too.”
The commendations focus on four incidents…
Sutton Borough officers in Tottenham: Saturday 6 August
Officers normally based in Sutton were sent to Tottenham High Road on an ‘urgent assistance’ call, and found themselves confronting a scene of serious disorder and violence.
Around 300 people had established themselves behind burning barricades and were using a nearby building site as a source of bricks and other projectiles to attack police lines.
The numbers involved and the ferocity of violence had overwhelmed police already on the scene, and some officers were lying injured and cut off from support when the Sutton officers arrived.
The team members formed improvised ‘extraction teams’ to rescue injured officers and a photographer who had become trapped among the violence while under a barrage of thrown objects so violent that some later reported their shields were split in two.
Having rescued those in danger, they then held the line for almost an hour – under constant exposure to violence and acrid smoke from the burning buildings – until further police numbers arrived.
Despite every member of the team sustaining injuries of some sort they refused to stand down, instead making their way to Tottenham Hale Retail Park – one of the scenes of looting – where they arrested eight people for burglary and recovered a large quantity of stolen goods from that area over the rest of the night.
Sutton Borough officers on Sutton High Street: Monday 8 August
Officers tackled a 50-strong group of youths intent on disorder and looting in Sutton High Street.
Despite having no protective kit or shields and being outnumbered, the officers – led by local Borough commander Guy Ferguson – repeatedly baton-charged the group, dispersing them as they tried first to break into Matalan, and then as they regrouped, frustrated by the officers’ actions, and began to pelt police and passing traffic with empty wine bottles taken from a nearby skip.
The brave and decisive action of the police team effectively secured the High Street, quashing the possibility of further serious disorder in the area that night.
Southwark Borough officers in Croydon: Monday 8 August
Southwark Borough officers braved smoke and fire to help trapped residents from the streets around the Reeves furniture store inferno, in one case carrying to safety children who had collapsed from fear in the doorway of their burning flat (and in another case catching a woman forced to jump from a first floor window ledge: an act which became one of the iconic photographs from the disorder).
Southwark Borough officers in Walworth: Monday 8 August
On Monday 8 August, the Southwark officers tackled and dispersed a group of 250 people they came across on Walworth Road, around 50 of whom were looting Carphone Warehouse and being encouraged by the rest to do so.
The officers came under sustained attack by the crowd, who threw bricks, lumps of concrete and street furniture.
Despite there being no immediate prospect of support in the form of further police resources, being outnumbered and dressed only in standard beat uniform, the officers involved showed immense courage in confronting the crowd to bring the situation under control.
During the incident, officers also managed to remove to safety and treat a stabbing victim.
Major strike against charity bag fraud gang
The City of London Police has conducted a major strike against an organised crime gang suspected of stealing second hand clothes worth hundreds of thousands of pounds to UK charities.
Yesterday morning, 30 officers descended on a depot in Rainham, Essex, believed to be the hub of an international criminal network.
Two men were arrested on suspicion of fraud by false representation and money laundering and GB pound 20,000 in cash was seized, along with charity bags, computers and correspondence.
A further two men were arrested shortly after at properties in East London and Essex, with all four later released on bail.
Charity bag fraud is estimated to be costing the third sector up to 50 million pounds each year, leading to the cancellation of vital aid projects.
Organised crime gangs involved
The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) is uncovering increasing evidence of organised crime gangs targeting bags of second hand clothes left out on the pavements for charities to collect.
The gangs are also setting up their own unregistered charities to dupe people into making donations using fraudulent charity bags sent through the post.
The bogus charity’s collectors, many of whom have been trafficked in from abroad and operate with false ID cards, will move into an area early in the morning to collect their own bags plus any others left for legitimate charities.
The stolen clothes are channelled back to depots in the South East to be exported abroad and sold, mainly in chains of supermarket-style shops in countries such as Poland, Latvia and Lithuania.
City of London Police commander Ian Dyson commented: “Charity bag fraud is a serious criminal threat, stealing millions of pounds from those who help the most vulnerable in society both at home and abroad.”
He continued: “This operation highlights how police forces and charities are sharing intelligence with the NFIB to identify and then dismantle the criminal networks who continue to steal from our streets to sell on High Streets across Eastern Europe.”
In conclusion, commander Dyson insisted: “Investigating this type of criminality is a major priority for the City of London Police, and those who continue to offend should expect our officers to come calling sometime soon.”
National strategy to combat the threat
In June, the NFIB and the City of London Police hosted a national forum for charities and representatives from law enforcement and Westminster to establish a national strategy aimed at combating this emerging threat. As part of the new approach to dealing with it, a Charity Bag Fraud Desk has been set up at the NFIB and draws on volunteers from the sector.
The operation is using the most advanced police analytical system in the world to assess criminal intelligence and co-ordinate the national police response.
On 14 September, the Fundraising Standards Board (FRSB) and Institute of Fundraising (IoF) are bringing together the key stakeholders to address the recent increase in charity bag fraud.
The Charity Clothing Collections Symposium will advise on what can be done to minimise future theft, with Nick Hurd MP – the minister for civil society – delivering the keynote speech.
Hurd said: “The City of London Police is doing a great job making sure the criminals who prey on good will and starve charities of millions of pounds face the consequences. The Government is committed to working with the police and charities to tackle this shameful crime.”
Legitimate charity work can continue
Michael Lomotey, business manager for Clothes Aid, explained: “We’ve been supporting the City of London Police throughout 2011 in its work on clamping down on ‘bogus collectors’. We have been helping from an industry perspective, and we are extremely pleased that they have been able to make various arrests.”
He added: “Fewer bogus clothes collectors on the streets means that the legitimate work of licensed clothing collectors on behalf of charities can continue. It’s essential that licensed clothing collectors work directly with police so that ‘bogus collectors’, as they are known, cease to exist.”
NSPCC director of fundraising Paul Amadi said: “The NSPCC is grateful to the City of London Police for cracking down on this heartless crime. The theft of charity clothes bags takes away valuable funds from the NSPCC, and also damages the public’s confidence to donate in these challenging economic times.”
Amadi added: “Our partnership with Clothes Aid has generated over GB pound 1.7 million towards the NSPCC’s work to support and protect vulnerable children in the UK. We are grateful for the public’s generosity and would urge them to continue to donate their clothes. Genuine NSPCC bags will always have our registered charity number on them.”
