Newham Council and the police are taking joint action to tackle the issue of illegal car meets causing danger and disruption to residents in the borough. Regular operations are underway which see traffic officers, supported by community safety officers from the council, closing down illegal, anti-social gatherings of drivers.
Over the past two weekends (September 18th and 25th) officers from Roads Traffic Police, Safer Neighbourhoods and the Met Special Constabulary along with council enforcement officers, successfully ended two illegal car meets of up to 100 drivers at Beckton Retail Park on Royal Albert Way.
Over the course of the two operations six vehicles were seized for no insurance, two arrests were made for drink driving, 20 anti-social behaviour warnings were issued and 14 drug searches resulted in two arrests for the possession of cannabis.
Newham council also supported the planned enforcement activity by putting in place road closures to assist police with the operations.
Cabinet lead for Crime and Community Safety, Cllr James Beckles said: “This kind of activity is highly disruptive and dangerous for residents and is often linked to other criminal activity.
“By working closely with the police to tackle the issue we have sent a strong message to those involved that this will not be tolerated in Newham. We will continue to use all tools at our disposal to disrupt this illegal activity.”
Superintendent Ian Brown said: “As a result of residents raising concerns about illegal car meets, the Local Authority and the Metropolitan Police Service are working in close partnership to target those who choose to commit criminal acts with a range of tactics, including seizing vehicles, issuing anti- social behaviour notices and bringing prosecutions.
“I have a very clear message to those involved: if you choose to come to Newham and disrupt the lives of law abiding residents we will deal with you and we will deal with you robustly.”