Twenty-four men in court charged with kerb crawling in Slough
12/05/2010
Twenty-four men appeared at Maidenhead magistrates’ court on Monday (10/5) charged with soliciting a person or persons for the purpose of prostitution, following an intelligence-led operation in Slough.
CPS Crown Advocate Nilam Salh explains the decision to charge:
Nineteen of the men pleaded guilty and were fined. Five pleaded not guilty and will appear before Bracknell magistrates court at a later date, where they will face trial. Two further men, who have also been charged with the same offence, did not appear.
CPS Thames Valley Senior Crown Prosecutor, Nilam Salh said: "The prosecution and conviction of these men today results from the CPS's 'community prosecutor' scheme being trialled in Slough. The approach sees the CPS actively seeking the crime and disorder concerns of the local community and responding to those concerns when taking decisions to prosecute. We recognise these crimes together with other forms of antisocial behaviour can have the greatest impact on a community - and that we need to respond to this. That is why in this case we have taken the robust decision to prosecute these men, who may otherwise have been dealt with out of court.
"We have also presented the views of the local residents of the blight that the problem of street prostitution has on their daily lives in court through the use of community impact statements. In addition to setting out the views of the residents, these statements highlight the action already taken by the police to deter prostitution and kerb crawling in the area. We want to reassure local residents in this area that we do take their concerns seriously and we will take action where it is appropriate to do so. We also hope that the outcome of todays hearing will act as a deterrent to others intending to kerb crawl in this area which will in turn improve the quality of life of those living here."
Supt Richard Humphrey, local police commander for Slough, said: "The guilty pleas are the result of a carefully planned police operation which was mounted in response to the on-going problems associated with prostitution and related anti-social behaviour in the Chalvey area. The Action4Chalvey group has also kept the issue in the public eye, and highlighted the impact of street prostitution on the quality of life for local residents. We've listened to these concerns and have taken a number of actions over the years to address the problem. These range from speaking to the prostitutes, taking them to court, and issuing anti-social behaviour orders, as well as writing warning letters to alleged kerb-crawlers. The Chalvey neighbourhood team has worked tirelessly to combat the problem.
"We have been supported all the way by Slough Borough Council who have installed CCTV cameras, deployed outreach workers and community wardens. Although all of these actions have had considerable success in reducing the number of street prostitutes and their clients, the problem still persists, which is why we chose to take a different approach with this intelligence-led operation. We fully support the Crown Prosecution Services 'community prosecutor' scheme which matches our own pledge to respond robustly to the concerns of the community. We will continue to work closely with our partners in the CPS and SBC in tackling all forms of anti-social behaviour, and work towards making Chalvey and the rest of Slough a safe place to live, work, and visit."
The following men pleaded guilty and were fined a total of £495, which includes a £400 fine plus additional costs (£80 court costs and £15 surcharge):
- Harjinder Dhillon, 35, of Cheviot Road, Slough
- Ghalib Hussain, 47, Burgett Road, Slough
- A 30-year-old man, of Northern Road, Slough
- Hakan Suleyman, 42, of Lilley Way, Slough
- Kirpal Singh Jachdev, 27, of The Glen, Southall, Middlesex
- James Makepeace, 37, of Windsor Road, Slough
- Wasim Aslam, 20, of Arthur Road, Slough
- Franklyn Boyde, 39, of Winvale, Slough
- Dinu Corlatean, 28, of Masefield Gardens, Crowthorne
- Atikollali Hakimi, 21, of Summerwood Road, Isleworth, Middlesex
- Kadir Miah, 25, of Portland Close, Slough
- Barry Hoy, 51, of Stoke Road, Slough
- Bakhshish Singh, 34, of Elliman Avenue, Slough
- Navdeep Singh, 25, of Grays Road, Slough
- Umair Akhtar, 25, of Hull Close, Slough
- Jozef Sobolak, 37, of Maple Crescent, Slough
Yusuf Mohammed Yusuf, 27, of Coteford Street, London, pleaded guilty and was fined a total of £395, which includes a £300 fine plus additional costs (£80 court costs and £15 surcharge). Arjan Johal, 19, of Buckingham Avenue, Slough, and Gurpreet Singh, 20, of Kirkwall Spur, Slough, pleaded guilty and were fined a total of £295, which includes a £200 fine plus additional costs (£80 court costs and £15 surcharge).
The following men pleaded not guilty and have been bailed to appear before Bracknell Magistrates' Court on the following dates:
- Kalbinder Singh, 38, Bath Road, Slough 5 July 2010
- Shakeel Saddique, 43, Common Road, Langley 13 October 2010
- Sundeep Bedi, 22, of Woodland Avenue, Slough 6 July 2010
- Mahmood Hussain, 51, of Chairborough Road, High Wycombe 9 July 2010
- lftikhar Hussain, 58, of Waterbeach Road, Slough 8 July 2010
Marlon Livingstone, 24, of Arthur Road, Slough, was due to attend the court yesterday (10/5) but failed to appear. A warrant was issued for his arrest. Jonathan Heard, 27, of Windlesham Road, Bracknell, was unable to attend court and is due to appear before Slough Magistrates' Court on 17 May 2010.
