Friday, 08 June 2018 17:02

Keeping in touch with High Barnet Police

Written by Nick Jones
Barnet Police safer neighbourhood team’s two dedicated ward officers, PC Daniel Bhogun (left) and PC Nick Onslow Barnet Police safer neighbourhood team’s two dedicated ward officers, PC Daniel Bhogun (left) and PC Nick Onslow
After the closure of High Barnet’s police station in November last year, the local safer neighbourhood police team is keen to improve and maintain contact with local residents.

New contact procedures and arrangements for regular face-to-face meetings are all up and running and the team is anxious to keep in touch and share information about those times when shoppers, householders, car owners and others might be at risk.  

The two dedicated ward officers in the safer neighbourhood team – PC Daniel Bhogun and PC Nick Onslow – are holding weekly getting-to-know-you meetings in the Spires and operate a dedicated email link for sending out and receiving information.

Their main concern at the moment is to alert elderly shoppers, young mothers with buggies and customers at cash points of the threat of pick-pockets operating in and around Barnet High Street.

“Please be aware how easily it is to be distracted in the High Street. The most vulnerable tend to be elderly women and young mothers, so please be aware of this,” said PC Onslow.

PC Bhogun said he an PC Onslow try to be together in the Spires for their weekly contact meeting with residents.

“We tend to be in the area of W H Smith and we do like to talk to people and get to know them and pass on advice, so please come along if you can.”

“We would like to get to know more local people, so that we can address their concerns.  We are readily available.”

The date and time of these weekly meeting is available on www.met.police.uk   By inserting the postcode residents are referred to the High Barnet page which gives the details.

There is also an opportunity for enhanced contact with the police twice a week in the Chipping Barnet library when a police officer will be in attendance – between 11am and 12 noon on Tuesdays and between 3pm and 4pm on Fridays.

Residents can contact the safer neighbourhood team via the online watch link website www.owl.co.uk. Again, by inserting a post code, householders and businesses receive information affecting their area.
If residents wish to send an email to the team it should be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The High Barnet ward safer neighbourhood team covers an area that extends to Station Road, New Barnet, in the east; to Stirling Corner in the west; and to the Hertfordshire border in the north.

The team has four officers – PC Boghun and PC Onslow, police community support officer, Rick Celeste, under the High Barnet ward sergeant, John Sparks.

The team are keen to emphasise that they will continue to be based in offices at the High Barnet police station for the next three to five years. No decision has been taken about the future use of the building.

Although the police station front office is no longer open to the public – it used to be open from 12noon to 8pm Monday to Friday – its closure does not affect the response to 999 calls which have been handled by response teams based at the Colindale police station for some years.

So the advice is clear: dial 999 if you need help immediately; dial 101 if the matter is less urgent; or contact the safer neighbourhood team for local advice and information via the new procedures and face-to-face meetings that take place.

4 comments

  • Comment Link Sunday, 17 June 2018 16:31 posted by Raffere

    -- Ha, Ha.
    Try contacting them and see what happens.
    A friend was knocked down by a hit and run driver more than six weeks ago and has just received an acknowledgment letter from the police at Colindale. And guess what? They can't do anything.
    The police turned up to see her in hospital, and just gave her that form; they didn't take her name or any details. Subsequently, message to High Barnet police and a letter to Insp Adrian Needley, local police chief, have gone unanswered.
    I would like to say that this was an exception, but it isn't. Time and again, the police look for ways of NOT following up crime reports. Their activity is in inverse proportion to their telling us what they are doing - good ol' PR at work.
    Go on, try them out by reporting something and prove me wrong. I'll happily eat my hat, but somehow I think my head will be covered come winter.

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  • Comment Link Tuesday, 19 June 2018 22:20 posted by Samantha Moss

    I would like to say that this was an exception, but it isn't. Time and again, the police look for ways of NOT following up crime reports. Their activity is in inverse proportion to their telling us what they are doing - good ol' PR at work.
    Go on, try them out by reporting something and prove me wrong. I'll happily eat my hat, but somehow I think my head will be covered come winter.

    Report
  • Comment Link Tuesday, 19 June 2018 22:20 posted by Samantha Moss

    I would like to say that this was an exception, but it isn't. Time and again, the police look for ways of NOT following up crime reports. Their activity is in inverse proportion to their telling us what they are doing - good ol' PR at work.
    Go on, try them out by reporting something and prove me wrong. I'll happily eat my hat, but somehow I think my head will be covered come winter.

    Report
  • Comment Link Sunday, 29 September 2019 09:38 posted by Gareth Turner

    There’s more vehicle theft than raindrops in the borough of Barnet at the moment.. My experience is the Police are 0% interested!!!

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