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Flipping heck, I wish I've never posted on this thread now, talk about a bee in your bonnet.Conceited ?! - you basically said a post of mine was such nonsense that couldn't read it all, but reading your post it was clear you had read it all, so I made a joke about that rather than taking offence, so you come back to me with another insult.Maybe (again to be nice rather than to take offence) it's because I have a rather dry sense of humour, reflected in the opening line of my first post on this thread when I joked about it wasn't safe to step outside.And what you've actually disregarded is I never once claimed that "all areas experience similar crime levels" what I said, word for word, was "I don't think it's so bad or anymore dangerous than most parts of London."To be pedantic, I made it clear that was my perception of this specific area based on my experience of it, and the time I spent in other parts of London, both through residing in other areas and the fact my work takes me all over London and the South East.  Whether I perceive an area is so bad or dangerous is a million miles away from a purported claim that "all areas experience similar crime levels" - a coastline can look calm and inviting on a beautiful summers day, or menacing and threatening in a Force 9 gale, same coastline, different day.It's all about perception, and as I've repeatedly tried to nicely say and to actually give more weight to your posts, my perception is based on a couple of walks or drives along this part of Brentford each week, whereas you clearly have direct day and night experience of what goes on.So quite frankly I really don't know what your problem with me on this particular issue is, or why you should have one - don't go off on one about honesty based on something that the person hasn't claimed, and recognise when someone is actually bowing to your direct awareness than his perception.Abit of humility and respect goes a long way...

Adam Beamish ● 2999d

It's a real shame but Albany Road sadly has become a hub for undesirables for want of a better word.The space behind the pub has become a dumping place for fly tippers.Any access point in the shadows at night is now a place for humans to urinate and defecate. ( That has been recurring from time to time for a few years now)Gangs are forming. Some are quite young kids and yet are roaming around often  well past midnight.  Drug dealing is taking place openly on Albany Road and has now spread down Brook Road South, Grosvenor Road Lateward road, Hamilton Road, Westbury place, The Park and in the alleyways and even rather ironically, at the empty Police station.It's often quite brazen, but ignore them & they will leave you alone. Now though, there are a aggressive boys and girls who have mouths like sewers who will simply walk up and assert themselves with expletives in a threatening way for no good reason.Where are they coming from? and more to the point where are the parents?Or are these kids just complete clones of their parents?Certainly the crime and drug stuff seems to have consolidated around the area since Albany Road was blocked off.The graffiti tags seem to follow the same routes and locations that the scooter and bike based individuals seem to use.  The railway bridge between Brook Road and Brook Lane is always a dodgy place and a meeting place. There are now perfect escape routes by bike.It is getting of late, a little more sinister and more and more brazen. At one end with the dealers and couriers and at the other with the gobby threatening types too many of them of whom are too young to be like this.It's really saddening that after all the money, education and effort of 30 plus years, we still have this cycle of people who seem to revel in behaving like neanderthals.They are certainly not all nasty people, but it seems that a few dominate the rest who end up behaving the same way, probably to survive in the environment dominated by such. Almost a form of social oppression.It does not help that some of the wealthier new arrivals to Brentford have bought their " Street Cred" recreational habits to the area and are rather adept to having "a cool guy who gets stuff" Nothing new, But it seems to have become a bit too much in recent times.To my mind, these people are as bad as those who race around on bikes or swear at people in the streets. They fuel all this.The bad apples need to be rooted out. The drug dealers, drunks and drugged up need to be removed or moved on and the Police need to get their fingers out. And those who use the services of dealers also need a prod from plod.Police only seem to react to the really bad bits. But like New York, they need to be coming round the corner at any time, and prevent it ever getting to this stage.Everyone locally seems to know. But no-one, particularly where it's going on the most seems to want to do anything about it. But if it's the talk of the area, then surely the Police know all this as well?Is it fear or is it the complete lack of confidence in the Police or Authorities to do much about it? It really does need the police and the local community to get this nipped in the bud. I fear it is already starting to get past that point.  It really is starting to become no-go in places.Much is regularly spouted out about  " Our Changing Community"  but it stops short of Changing for the better or Worse ?Is it this uncontrolled rate of change that is really the first signs of things to come?

Raymond Havelock ● 2999d

No disdain at all - just keeping the conversation honest - which is getting a little tough with you it seems. You claimed all areas experience similar crime levels. They don't. We are still waiting for you to admit that fact.You stated:  ''and I note we haven't had any other posters sharing their experiences.''We have. Raki Smith:''- Albany Rd – Next to the large block of flats there are deals carried out. Also I have been told by residents in the blocks they are even scared to say anything. - Crack-Donald’s – As put by a BBC programme. The car park is where most deals happen, Worst off in day light. - Outside The Princess Royal – I have even called the Police once. Kids are riding their bikes to site, picking up and leaving. ''Alex Shpinkov - ''Unfortunately the proportion of those with lack of discipline seems higher in areas like Albany Road, Netley Road, Green Dragon Lane… This somehow leads to the area to get, as Jacob pointed earlier,  ghettoised.''On another thread that you read - Mark Skuse:''Yet another tragedy.  Hounslow Council seem to be progressively socially re-engineering the neighbourhood with  a lot of people being moved into Brentford who have had no previous connection with the area.  The place is changing rapidly and filling with people who really do not give two hoots about the area.  The housing and open space around Albany Parade is either full of drunks or junkies spitting and shouting from their balconies.  Gangs of youths have been regularly forming around the McDonalds Drive Thru.  It is becoming quite intimidating.  However, the Council is wholly responsible with their mismanaged housing policy.''Raymond Havelock - perhaps the best of the bunch - again on the acid attack thread you read:''Unfortunately, it has been rather dodgy here for quite some time.There is drug dealing going on openly in Brook Road near Albany Road, Mafeking Avenue and in Albany Road itself. The alleyways are regularly used. Others simply defecate on the pavement and area by the Garages near the pub and there are regularly very expensive blacked out cars with several occupants which get met by scooters and passers by.All this has been reported and even posted on this site over the past 3 years and there is on occasion CCTV installed. But it seems to do nothing.A schoolgirl clearly from Brentford School for Girls walked past me recently up Lateward Road smoking dope and disappeared into the flats at the end. I saw her again in Mafeking Ave. Do the parents have any idea?There are quite young teens on bikes starting to group into gangs and some dreadful behaviour by girls in particular. Two were lobbing bricks in Grosvenor road and then threw them at an elderly resident who challenged them. But despite the Press release, The police seem completely reluctant to have a presence and tackle this visibly.This underlines how severe these underlying problems are and no doubt the publicity of such incidents and the insatiable appetite for this stuff on social media which seems to have so many addicted is coming to the surface.''Etc etc etc.. Posters are telling you about the reality - it just seems you don't like what they are saying as many of your posts either dismiss these voices or preach to them they live in area - as good and as bad as any other - which is untrue. Even the police admitted these streets were crime hot-spots.Also you sounded a little conceited saying I have read a post of yours when I stated I hadn't. When you accuse someone of doing something they haven't and then make false statements about all areas in London experiencing similar crime levels to boot - you can't expect too many plaudits. What you can expect is people perhaps calling you out as has happened. This is why it is dangerous to invent facts on a public forum. You always run the risk of running into someone who actually has first hand experience of living in the actual streets impacted or those who have dealt with the local safer neighbourhood teams - who are also aware there is problem in this locality.

Jacob James ● 2999d