The Dittons & Hinchley Wood

Local officers will conduct regular high-visibility patrols in identified hotspot areas, using intelligence-led policing to target known offenders involved in Serious Acquisitive Crime (SAC). Working closely with residents, communities, and partner agencies, officers will develop local intelligence to deter and prevent offending. Officers will also provide victims with crime prevention advice and promote property-marking schemes to reduce opportunities for crime and help prevent repeat victimisation.

Burglary
The Elmbridge Burglary Working Group have brought together key partners from across the borough, including Surrey Police, Network Rail, British Transport Police, private security companies, and residents' associations.

The group's priorities for 2026/27 are to:

•Reduce the number of burglary victims across Elmbridge.
•Increase public confidence in Surrey Police, residents' associations, private security partners, and Network Rail.
•Dedicated high-visibility and covert burglary patrols targeting identified hotspot locations to deter offending, disrupt criminal activity, and provide reassurance to local communities

Partnership working is having a positive impact. Burglary offences across Elmbridge were 20% lower in 2025 compared with 2024. As part of the 2025/26 Burglary Campaign, 13 offenders have been arrested, with 6 subsequently charged.

Vehicle Crime
We know that a significant proportion of vehicle crime involves vehicles being left unlocked. To help raise awareness, we have purchased a number of large roadside signs which will be moved around the borough to highlight this issue. Please help protect yourself from becoming a victim by:

• Locking your vehicle, even when parked outside your home.
• Removing valuables from sight.
• Ensuring windows and sunroofs are fully closed.

A few simple steps can make a significant difference in preventing vehicle crime.

Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) is a priority across the Borough. ASB can have a significant impact on local communities and includes behaviour that causes harassment, alarm or distress. We encourage residents to report any incidents they witness. Your local policing team will work alongside partner organisations to identify issues, take action where appropriate, and help keep our neighbourhoods safe.

Albany Reach and the adjoining Aragon Avenue riverfront area in Thames Ditton experiences recurring seasonal anti-social behaviour linked to large gatherings of young people and visitors using the riverside location. The associated issues include alcohol-related nuisance, disorder, noise, littering, trespass, unsafe river activity and parking concerns. The impact on local residents is significant, requiring continued partnership enforcement, high-visibility patrols, environmental measures and community engagement to reduce harm and improve public confidence.

Regular partnership activity has been conducted involving Surrey Police, Elmbridge Borough Council and the Environment Agency. Two dispersal orders had been implemented since May to address ongoing ASB concerns.

Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) remains a key borough-wide priority. Encompassing a broad range of offences and harmful behaviours committed primarily, though not exclusively, by men against women and girls, VAWG requires a coordinated response. Local officers will work in partnership with relevant agencies to identify and pursue offenders, reduce risk, and improve safety in areas where women and girls report feeling vulnerable or unsafe.

During the Summer we organised a range of opportunities for women across the borough to engage directly with officers, gain insight into how we are tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) and raise awareness of the support and initiatives available.

Dedicated patrols are being conducted within the night-time economy, including the deployment of specially trained Behavioural Detection Officers to identify and deter predatory behaviour.

Enhanced licensing visits are taking place across the borough, alongside the promotion of safeguarding initiatives such as Ask Angela, ensuring staff are equipped to support those who may feel vulnerable or at risk.

We are working closely with local event organisers to promote and deliver VAWG Safe events, helping to create safer environments and improve confidence among women and girls attending community events.

Drug-related harm has a significant impact on our communities. We will target organised crime groups and county lines networks that exploit vulnerable people and children, while taking proactive action to reduce associated violence.

Local officers will gather intelligence, disrupt criminal activity, and use appropriate enforcement and safeguarding powers to protect those at risk of exploitation, helping to keep our communities safe.

Albany Reach and the wider Thames Ditton Riverside area have been identified through partnership engagement and community feedback as locations where drug and alcohol misuse contribute to anti-social behaviour and wider community harm. Residents and neighbourhood officers have raised concerns about the impact of substance misuse on public spaces and riverside amenities.

Local officers will be more visible in town centres, focusing patrols on hotspot locations identified through data and intelligence. This activity is intended to deter and prevent crime and anti-social behaviour, including shop theft, street theft, and assaults against retail workers, while reducing harm and improving public confidence.

Local officers will have an increased presence in town centres, targeting areas identified through data and intelligence as crime and anti-social behaviour hotspots. The patrols aim to deter, disrupt and prevent offences, including shop theft, street theft and assaults on retail workers, helping to reduce harm and increase public confidence in policing.

Officers have been engaging with local retailers to identify concerns, improve reporting and look at ways to make town centres safer for businesses, staff and visitors.

Our Live Facial Recognition (LFR) van was deployed in Walton during the Summer as part of ongoing efforts to tackle retail crime, anti-social behaviour and drug-related offences. The operation forms part of our wider commitment to reducing crime, preventing disorder and helping to keep Walton a safe place for everyone.