Authorities in Merton including the borough MP, police and council have addressed significant concerns following reports of two attempted abductions last week.

Today, two public meetings will be held via video call app Zoom at 2 pm and 6 pm, with Metropolitan Police Inspector Bob Whitehead and MP Siobhain McDonagh.

The meeting follows an attempted abduction which took place in the North Place area of Mitcham on November 3.

One day later, a second attempted abduction was reported in Colliers Wood, on November 4. 

Below we have addressed the most frequently asked questions, and listed concerns in the meeting which saw 115 people attend this morning.

A request for more information on the second reported abduction in Colliers Wood

Residents asked for further information on the attempted abduction of a schoolboy from Singlegate Primary School.

Metropolitan Police Inspector Bob Whitehead said: "An allegation was made to the police, by a boy on his way to school that is being investigated.

"There are some discrepancies in what he said. He reported that a social worker pushed over a suspect and then walked him to school and past police officers who were on the school gate.

"If we find out who that social worker is, we would really like to talk to them.

"The description of the suspect was identical to the suspect of the previous incident, I can say that the suspect of the previous case was in custody at that time."

The length of time it took for police to state the kidnap of the girl on November 3

The length of time taken to release a statement regarding the attempted abduction of a schoolgirl was raised early on into the meeting.

The incident took place shortly after 7 am, but a statement wasn't provided until around 3 pm.

Inspector Bob Whitehead says the police had to be careful on what they said in the statement - to ensure it wouldn't have an impact on the investigation or any trials.

"We always try to get a media response out as soon as we can," Bob responded.

"Yes, I appreciate we should have looked at a statement earlier, it is something that we are looking into as a future way on how we communicate to the media."

Kadian Nelson, 26, has been charged with rape and kidnap following the incident.

See more: Man charged following Mitcham 'abduction'

The number of crimes that have taken place since the first lockdown

Residents raised their concerns about the amount of crimes that have taken place since the beginning of lockdown.

In particular, the incident regarding Loeike Guei, who tragically died after he was set on fire in Mitcham on September 17.

In response, Inspector Bob Whitehead said: "Merton remains the fourth safest borough in London. It is an incredibly safe place to be, these things are incredibly rare.

"I am very aware of the gentleman who was set on fire in Mitcham common, he was almost certainly killed in the Lambeth area.

"There have been terrible incidents, I am not going to disagree with that, we are doing as much as we possibly can."

Are police patrolling the Colliers Wood area?

A spokesperson for South West BCU said: "We’ve got a lot of teams covering the area ranging from the Safer Neighbourhoods Team, to response officers answering calls to other specialist teams on the ground as well.

"We can also draft in officers from other boroughs too, which also include more specialist teams.

"These teams cover the areas that need them."

Members of the public have been advised against patrolling the areas themselves.

Merton Council will be looking into...

Leader of Merton Council Stephen Alambritis, confirmed that the council will look into additional lighting in the Colliers Wood area.

Metropolitan Police Inspector Bob Whitehead, has warned that both lighting and CCTV in certain areas can "perceive a false sense of security."

Head of Safety for Merton Council Kiran Vagarwal, confirmed that the council will look into the possibility of sourcing rape alarms for young people.

The council also confirmed that they will look into more information surrounding the idea of lollipop ladies.

If you have any questions, and couldn't make the public meeting you can contact your local policing team here.

You can also contact Siobhain McDonagh at siobhain@mmlp.org.uk