Detective Superintendent Jo Oakley - Deputy Police Borough Commander for Lewisham - shares her thoughts on Lewisham policing.

I am pleased to be given the opportunity to have a regular slot to be able to update you on the work of Lewisham Police. During 2014 we saw some really significant reductions in crimes which impact greatly on the lives of you that live, work or travel through Lewisham.

Burglary saw it’s lowest numbers for many years. We still have some way to go but still a significant number of fewer crimes. The easier it is for a burglar to get in the more likely they will target your property over another which has good locks, low hedges and difficulty in accessing the back garden.

Use a good lock on your shed or garage (where tools are often taken from to commit the burglary), not one which you can buy for a pound, but one which although may cost £20 will be really hard to remove. We can reduce burglary further with your help.

Confidence in Lewisham Police is also the highest it has ever been which is really warming. Last week I was present when the Mayor presented an award to six officers who had cleaned the War Memorial after it had been set on fire.

This was clearly not something police officers would normally do, but shows that we are literally not afraid to roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty!

Within your local wards the Safer Neighbourhood Teams produce newsletters letting you know about what they have done in response to the matters which you have raised as an issue for you.

These are available to be emailed to you so please contact your local teams if you would like a copy. I look forward to an even more productive year for 2015.