Greenwich Borough Commander Richard Wood of the Metropolitan Police has issued the following statement;
“The sheer criminal behaviour we witnessed last night in Woolwich and other areas across the borough is utterly unacceptable and I will do everything in my power to ensure that those involved are caught.
Brave police officers from the borough of Greenwich and from other units within the Metropolitan Police have been facing challenging circumstances in one of the worst nights this borough has witnessed in a long time.
I urge everyone in the borough of Greenwich to clear the way for police at night so that we can deal with those criminals who intend to bring disruption to our area. Also, people must not to take matters in their own hands and have to let the police deal with incidents in a law abiding manner.
I ask parents, schools, local leaders and others to stand together and convey the message that the crime and disorder we have witnessed will not be tolerated. I have spoken to many people across the borough today and without exception, they are appalled by the outrageous criminal acts of thuggery that took place.
Many arrests have already been made, but I would ask everyone to work with police and help us to identify those involved so that we can arrest them at the first opportunity.
We continue to work with the Council and other emergency services to ensure that we keep everyone in Greenwich safe. I have toured parts of the borough today with a number of senior partner and we are determined to work together to stop any ongoing criminal activity.
Above all, we remain unfaltering and united in tackling criminals on our streets and look for support from you, the community we serve”.
Anyone with information can ring Police intelligence on 0203 276 0805, or if you have any images or video please email rgviido@gmail.com