Police shut down anti-crime event

Thursday, 04 March 2010

By Michael Stringer

A CHURCH leader was threatened with an on-the-spot fine after police shut down an anti-crime event.

Pastor Farai Dangarembizi from The Potter’s House Christian Church made the claims.

He said a group of police officers confronted the group on Saturday last week and told them to move on from where they were gathered in Lewisham High Street.

The group of mainly young people take to the streets every month to play music with anti-crime messages and encourage people to turn away from violence.

They hold free “No Knives, No Guns” concerts every month and their gatherings in Lewisham High Street promote the events.

Pastor Dangarembizi said: “We’ve been doing these preview shows in the street for more than two years and we’ve never had a problem.

"Apparently someone had made a complaint we were being a nuisance.

"We’d only been there about 15 minutes and hadn’t really started when five or six PCSOs turned up.

“I didn’t think they were being serious.

"I thought it was some kind of joke when they told us to shut down.

"But they became very serious.

“A police sergeant came a little while later and threatened us with fines if we didn’t move on.

“I am a pastor at a church, not a criminal.

"I work with so many gang members trying hard to change their ways and make a difference.

“I thought the police wanted to work with people like us, not against us.

“I know one sergeant does not represent the whole police force, but my view of the police has definitely been tarnished.”

The church meets in the United Reformed Church building on the corner of Courthill Road and Lewisham High Street every Wednesday evening.

Lewisham police confirmed the group had a loud sound system and was causing an obstruction.

Sgt Matt McGrath said: “The anti-knife crime messages the group was conveying are positive.

"But the manner in which they communicated this was causing a nuisance to local people.

“The group’s music and messages could be heard very loudly inside several nearby businesses.

“They did not have permission for this and were obstructing the high street, so I asked them to pack up this equipment.

“However, I told them they could continue to hand out leaflets and give members of the public information.”

Email: michael.stringer@slp.co.uk

For the full story, you can get a full online edition at www.slp-e-edition.co.uk

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6 comments on this news item

Posted by : lewiboy, Lewisham | Saturday 03/Apr/2010 | Report this comment

This is a religous group trying to recruit people to its church. Why should people working and visiting Lewisham Centre have to put up with this unnecessary noise (they can continue to hand out leaflets if they really want to).

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Posted by : Sarah Jane, London | Tuesday 30/Mar/2010 | Report this comment

I have lost 3 friends to gun and knife crim in the last 4 years and have uncountable friends who have been stabbed or shot and are still alive today. This is a negitive representive of the police force and I for one am a young womn who is 18 and have many ultications with the police force always been negitive. This is the type of interaction that makes people dislike the force as much as I do

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Posted by : Vino Vamadevan, South London | Wednesday 10/Mar/2010 | Report this comment

This just goes to show what kind of society we are living in, where people are trying to make a difference and minority will always have a problem. I believe we all have to join together to combat knife and gun crime, if police is willing to work with local community this will have more of a impact in reducing young lives being lost in London. I believe Farai is doing a fantastic job in the local community and we should try our upmost to support individuals like him

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