In a bold move to combat crime, a group of mums in South West London have formed their own 'patrol' after a spate of knifepoint thefts targeting their children. Sinead Masterson, spurred into action by the slow police response when her 13-year-old autistic son was robbed, has rallied other parents to join forces.
The 34-year-old nursery manager expressed her frustration, revealing that it took officers 11 days to take a statement from her "vulnerable" son. The proactive group has since organised a march through Islington, with over a hundred locals demanding 'safe streets' and chanting: "Keep crime off our streets; keep our children safe!"
Ms Masterson detailed the patrol's efforts, saying: "There are around seven of us doing the morning [patrols] between 8:15 and 9 and seven doing the evenings at 3:30 to 4:30."
She added, "Everyone's working around their children and their jobs."
Recounting the traumatic incident, she said, "My 13-year-old son was followed home by some older boys who robbed him of his phone. One of them threatened him with a knife. I was made aware and called the police, but they took 11 days to come and take a statement from [my son]."
She also noted the alarming frequency of such crimes, stating, "A week later another boy had been robbed and a day after another two children were robbed."
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Outraged Ms Masterson has taken action after her Facebook post about the spate of violent muggings drew mass attention, leading her to start a WhatsApp group for worried parents. She says the Met Police are downplaying the incidents and revealed that her son's school only recently acknowledged the robberies: "The police aren't taking it too seriously," she lamented.
"11 days is a long time to take a statement from a vulnerable 13-year-old."
She recounted a chilling incident involving another student: "One of the boys at my son's school had a knife put to his throat a couple of days ago at eight in the morning, on his way to school."
She expressed concern over the lack of police presence: "All the kids are worried and I don't think the police are taking it too seriously. They have nobody patrolling the area."
The school's delayed response also came under fire as they only sent a warning email to parents on 02/12. "Two others were robbed before my son and we were not alerted."
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she stated, frustrated that preventative steps weren't taken: "Me and my partner would have met him from school and he might not have been robbed - and the other children might not have been robbed."
She criticised the school for inadequate support post-incident: "There's not much aftercare from the school, either; just a long waiting list for counselling."
Mentioning the impact on her autistic son, she said, "It's really affected my son. He has autism and doesn't understand what has happened."
The mothers are rallying together: "Us mums have got together. We don't know what we would do [if we saw a child getting mugged], but we would act on mother's instinct."
She noted that some of the culprits appear to be wearing similar school uniforms, increasing worry among the group.
"We just walk around together and go to all the hotspots where kids have been robbed, telling kids to put their phones away and just keeping an eye on the kids going to school.
"We could really do with the support of the police right now, but we don't feel they have taken us seriously, so we have had to take matters into our own hands."
said Ms Masterson. Despite her initial disappointment with the police response, she noted that since last month's march, there seems to be an increased police presence around her son's school.
However, she confessed hearing about robberies at another school approximately 15 minutes away, raising concerns that her son's school might be targeted again soon. "I think the government have a lot answer for; making cut-backs hasn't helped and laws need to be stricter," added Ms Masterson.
"[Those] arrested for robberies are not doing jail time so [there's] no deterrent."
Superintendent Jack May-Robinson, of Islington Neighbourhoods team, acknowledged the "heightened community concern" following reports of young people being robbed in Islington. "We are aware of recent concerns linked to robberies in the Islington area and are investigating those that have been reported to us," he stated.
"We appreciate the heightened community concern, particularly among parents, as several reports appear to involve young people.
"Please rest assured we have increased police patrols and are doing what we can to keep the community safe.
"We have been working hard to reduce incidents of robbing in Islington.
"Since the start of the financial year, we have seen a 13.5 per cent reduction of such crime in the area."