Each month, we email a bulletin to everyone who has signed up on this site. Below is the edition that we sent in November 2021. If you like it, please sign up on our Get Involved section – you will be showing your support for our work and you will receive our free monthly bulletins a month before they appear here.
IN THIS ISSUE… +++ Bike-jacking suspect in custody +++ Police to target drivers ignoring traffic trial restrictions +++ A summary of road incidents over the past three months +++ Speed limits – the police’s final word
ROBBERIES LATEST
The spate of violent bike-jackings in the park carried out by balaclava-wearing thugs has attracted national attention and led to a drop in the number of cyclists. The police investigation is now being run by Operation Venice, the Met unit which has been tackling motorcycle-enabled crime across London since 2012. They have made one arrest, which has hopefully sent a message to the brazen thieves that it is not worth the risk, and the suspect is currently remanded in custody.
There have not been any more thefts in the park since police apprehended the suspect three weeks ago. He is still under investigation, and Sgt Peter Sturgess from the park’s police unit, which is separate to Operation Venice, seemed confident that the ongoing inquiry will lead to a welcome outcome.
Nevertheless, please remain vigilant and follow the police’s key advice:
Try to cycle in groups if you can.
Keep a friendly eye out for cyclists riding alone.
If you hear a motorbike approaching in the distance at speed, dismount rather than risk being rammed off.
Do not share photos or video footage of assailants on social media. Send them to the police. Visual clues, such as items of clothing, are valuable to detectives, who can use them to link the people on camera to crimes. Distributing images online can alert the criminals and increase the chance of them altering their appearance.
Here is a timeline of the events so far, along with the crime reference numbers. Call 101, quoting the relevant number, if you have any information which could help police with their enquiries or lead to the recovery of the stolen bikes.
Wednesday, October 6: Two males wearing balaclavas and riding electric scooters on Sawyers Hill pushed a cyclist off his bike – a red 2021 Cannondale System Six Ultegra – and stole it. (Crime ref: 0709961/21)
Thursday 7: At around 3pm, four males on two motorbikes pursued and rammed British pro cyclist Alexandar Richardson near Sheen Gate. The Alpecin-Fenix rider held on to his £10,000 Specialized Tarmac SL7 as he was dragged along the ground for 100 metres before one of the gang threatened him with a machete and made off with the bike. Alex posted a photo showing bad cuts to his leg from the attack. (Crime ref: 5103/07Oct)
Friday 8: We happened to be riding past Roehampton Gate at around 1.30pm when two officers who had just driven in stopped their car to warn us that a couple of people wearing balaclavas were spotted heading down Priory Lane on a moped and were believed to be in the park. They were not located and there was no theft this time.
Monday 11: There were two more violent bike-jackings, both at 5pm at separate locations outside the park, with the assailants wielding machetes again. One was on Putney High Street (Crime ref: 5688/11Oct), the other outside Ibstock School on Danebury Avenue near Roehampton Gate. The victim of the former robbery escaped unharmed. The rider involved in the latter was Marc Radville, 37, from Lewisham, who suffered bruising after the assailants rammed him to the ground.
Wednesday 13: Officers from Operation Venice apprehended a male on a motorbike in the park. He was stopped using “tactical contact”, which is the police term for intentionally knocking a suspect off a vehicle. He was taken into custody.
Friday 15: Police state a 16-year-old male was arrested on suspicion of robbery, attempted robbery, possession of an offensive weapon and allowing to be carried in a stolen vehicle. He is under investigation for the offences relating to the robberies in the park and was charged with offences related to a separate investigation. He is currently remanded in custody.
NO BARRIERS TO PROGRESS
At the quarterly police panel meeting which we attended last month, we asked Sgt Peter Sturgess to target motorists who drive around the barriers restricting traffic in the park – and we are pleased to say he has agreed that this will be one of his unit’s four main priorities over the next three months.
Every meeting of the panel decides what the police will prioritise during the coming quarter-year. The suggested priorities are often carried over at the next meeting, which means targeting motorists breaching the trial restrictions could also be extended beyond January.
Sgt Sturgess’s adoption of our suggestion builds on the police’s decision, mentioned in last month’s bulletin, to report motorists for driving without due care and attention if they are caught going around the barriers – a harsher charge which can result in a fine, penalty points or requirement to go on a driving course.
Many of those who drive around the barriers have permission to do so as they are on park business, and their vehicles will have a relevant permit displayed. But many others are simply trying their luck – and as we previously reported, in July a cyclist was left with a broken scapula, a fractured shoulder and a bent bike after a driver who should not have been at the foot of Broomfield Hill tried to do a U-turn. Now that the police are sending a stronger message to motorists that the restrictions must be obeyed, the chance of such dangers occurring will hopefully be reduced.
REPORT RUNDOWN
Staying on the subject of the Police Panel meeting, here is a summary of road-related incidents in the police report for July, August and September.
A total of 355 trade vehicles were issued with fixed penalty notices for illegally driving in the park. We believe this figure to be a record. Targeting trade vehicles was one of the police’s priorities for the quarter, and will continue to be so for the next three months.
The most dramatic cycling-related incident was the crash on Broomfield Hill caused by a U-turning driver, mentioned above and in our August bulletin.
There were 84 drivers fined for excessive speed, 29 for driving around the trial barriers, three taken to court for driving without due care or attention, and seven for no insurance.
No cyclists were issued with fines, but many were given advice at the roadside for riding without due care, or endangering others which sometimes involved inappropriate speed for the traffic conditions.
There were two altercations involving a cyclist and a driver. The first, which took place in July on Broomfield Hill, resulted in the cyclist coming off his bike, suffering bruising and shallow cuts; the second was a verbal altercation on Queen’s Road in August where the driver braked hard and the rider went into the back of the car, grazing his hands.
In July, a cyclist travelling uphill on Queen’s Road came off, hitting his head and hurting his hip, after he saw an oncoming driver overtaking cyclists and swerved to avoid him.
Also in July, a driver waiting to turn right was overtaken by a cyclist as he started his manoeuvre. He hit the cyclist, causing grazes and cuts to his right arm, leg and face.
There were two incidents of cyclists hitting pedestrians. On White Lodge Road in July, a pedestrian walking uphill was hit by a cyclist and fell to the floor. The pedestrian suffered a fractured cheek, extensive bruising, tooth damage and concussion. The cyclist, who came off the bike, cycled away. (We were previously told by the police that both parties were women and the cyclist said sorry before riding off.) The second incident, which was at Sheen Cross in August, saw a cyclist hitting a child who was crossing the road, resulting in grazes to the child’s hands.
Once again, the quarterly figures show that cyclists are open to greater danger in the park. The elimination of through traffic would reduce incidents that lead to their physical harm as well as free up police time which is currently spent on apprehending and fining drivers.
CULL BACK
It’s November, chums – which means the second of the biannual deer culls has begun. Here’s a quick reminder of the restrictions on cycling in the park at night and early morning while the operation is carried out.
For approximately six weeks, the pedestrian gates will open at 7:30am and close at 8pm, which means you will not be able to ride your bike in the park outside these times. Remember that the restrictions are for your own safety as firearms are used.
The Royal Parks’ team locks the gates in rotation each night. If you arrive at one of them shortly prior to locking time, please do not enter unless you are absolutely certain you can easily reach your exit before 8pm. Ride into the park at, say, 7.59 and you could find your exit is already locked – so you will have to head back to the gate where you entered, which will now be shut as well, then wait for TRP’s team to return on its final sweep and open it for you. Save yourself getting into a pickle by using the roads around the park instead.
The cull, which TRP has a duty to carry out in order to control the number of deer, could last longer or shorter than the allocated six-week period, depending on the health of the herd. We will let you know via social media if the pedestrian gates reopen before our next monthly bulletin comes out.
SPEEDY RESOLUTION
On a final note, the park’s police and its management met to discuss a way forward after The Royal Parks wrote, in a response to a Freedom of Information request, that the speed limits stated in its regulations “are not deemed to apply to bicycles”.
The police’s response following the meeting clarifies the matter. Here is their statement:
“It is a criminal offence, under existing Royal Parks regulations, for cyclists or any person in a park to intentionally or recklessly interfere with the safety, comfort or convenience of other visitors. This includes those cycling dangerously or recklessly at speed.
“We acknowledge that while most visitors who cycle in the park are law-abiding, a small minority are not and their behaviour is an issue of concern for the wider public as well as other cyclists. We work closely with The Royal Parks as we enforce safe cycling across the parks, so all visitors and wildlife can enjoy the parks safely.
“To this end, we recommend that cyclists use the signposted limits as a guide for appropriate speeds.”
At the police panel meeting, which took place the day before the police and management met, it was made clear that the response to the FoI request makes no practical difference to the way the roads are policed. Officers have a range of powers to deal with excessive cycling speeds, and they tend to use them mainly when there is an aggravating factor involved such as, for example, weaving in and out of cars or crowds of people. (It should also be noted that the number of cyclists fined for speeding is incredibly small.)
We are pleased with the police’s statement. The limits of 20mph on the outer roadway and 10mph on the Quietway, which are signposted for cyclists, represent a reasonable speed for their particular environments. Now this distraction has been resolved, we can concentrate fully on our greater goal of eliminating through traffic from the park.
SEE YOU NEXT MONTH...
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All the best,
Richmond Park Cyclists