Normal Life resumes in Hackney

The information below aims to provide an update on what the Council, Police and partners have been doing since the incidents on Monday to help Hackney pull together and move forward.

Since the events of Monday evening there have been no significant disturbances in Hackney and the streets have been relatively quiet. Hackney Council services and buildings are open for business as usual and have been for the last two days.

Policing

There will be 16,000 police officers deployed across London and this increased police presence is expected to continue until Monday. However locally in Hackney the Safer Neighbourhood Teams are doing more patrols helping to reassure residents.

The police are currently assessing 30+ hours of CCTV footage, from council CCTV cameras which will provide a fuller picture of the number and scale of incidents around the borough. Importantly, this will also help secure more convictions of those who took part in the events.
Over 50 arrests have been made so far in Hackney and at least 30 people have now been charged.

Cleaning up

Council street cleaners worked as soon as it was safe to clear debris from the streets. Most areas where there had been trouble were clear by 5am on Tuesday morning; streets had been washed down by 7.30am; graffiti on Clarence Roadwas washed off by 7am and burnt cars were removed by lunchtime. Repairs to the carriage way on Clarence Roadwill be completed by tomorrow.

In addition all minor street lighting damage was repaired on Tuesday and 2 burnt lamp columns will be repaired on Monday and reconnected on Wednesday Bins and loose street furniture have temporarily been removed as a precautionary measure.

All bins and loose street furniture removed from Hackney Central, Dalston and the A10 on Tuesday, as a precautionary measure. They will be returned on police advice.

We'd like to pay tribute to the street cleaners and their amazing work in making sure Hackney was cleared up as soon as possible, and all the residents who turned up to volunteer help clean on Tuesday morning at the Town Hall. This reminds us of all that is great about our borough and how much we all care about our local community.

Supporting local businesses

15 businesses were damaged in the Hackney Central area and 5 in Dalston. 7 of these are locally owned ones.

Mayor Jules Pipe, Council Officers and councillors has been visiting businesses in the town centre on a daily basis and distributed advice sheets from the Police, advising on safety measures, and helping with the clear up.

Town Centre managers have also been talking to businesses in their areas to provide additional advice. The Metropolitan Police advice for businesses concerned about the recent disturbances which is available  here.

And remember if you have any information for the Police or want to check their latest advice for the public – please look online here.

The Mayor of London and the Government have announced funds to help those areas most affected by the events of earlier this week. The details of this are not yet clear.

Community engagement and reassurance

As detailed above, the Council has been in constant contact with local businesses affected by the public disorder.

The Mayor and Chief Executive visited local residents and businesses affected on Tuesday morning and throughout Wednesday, including meetings with residents, businesses, community and faith leaders on Wednesday afternoon [see further information on the HCVS meeting below].  Cabinet and ward members have also been meeting with local residents and businesses affected.

SNTs are updating CAP Chairs regularly; and providing reassurance through face-to-face contact with residents.

About 150 people turned up at the Town Hall on Tuesday morning as part of the Twitter campaign (#RiotCleanUp) and were thanked but told that the streets had been cleared and they should go elsewhere in London where their help was needed.

Hackney Community Voluntary Sector Community meeting

An emergency meeting to consider a community response to the disorder was organised by Hackney CVS on Wednesday afternoon.

The meeting was chaired by Jake Ferguson (Chief Executive, Hackney CVS) with the Mayor, Chief Executive, Cabinet Adviser for Crime and Community Safety, Police Borough Commander and over 50 community leaders, frontline workers and residents attending.  

A set of actions for further community engagement and involvement came out of the meeting and these are outlined below:

1. It was agreed to coordinate with key partners to arrange a community meeting/event to galvanise community support during responses to major incidents.

2. It was agreed to work with relevant partners and agencies to convene a meeting to look at issues around parenting and supporting stronger parenting in the borough.

3. It was agreed to work closely with the Borough Commander to make plans for a community event to bring together the police and communities about police/community relations and community safety.

4. It was agreed to explore with a range of statutory and voluntary services the possibility of a meeting for young people, led by young people, that brings together those involved and those not involved in the incidents – without incriminating those involved, to discuss young peoples perceptions and solutions to what has happened.

5. It was agreed to arrange a young people and borough leadership meeting to enable young people to express their feelings and look towards the future.

6. It was agreed to explore further a T-shirt/positive message campaign

7. It was also agreed to focus on longer term issues of effective police campaigns that will build relationships between police and young people

The CVS, Council and Team Hackney partners will be taking these forward over the coming weeks and months, and further information will be available as these progress.

Please do get in touch with us if you have any suggestions about how we can all work together to rebuild trust.