Residents Urged to Report Drug Crime Anonymously
Hammersmith & Fulham Council teams up with Crimestoppers
The borough has a drug crime rate 1.77 times the national average. Picture: AI Generated
March 9, 2026
An anonymous crime reporting campaign has launched in Hammersmith & Fulham, targeting drug dealing and the violence and exploitation that frequently accompanies it. The initiative, run by the independent charity Crimestoppers in partnership with the borough council, aims to persuade residents who have concerns about drug activity in their neighbourhood to come forward — without fear of being identified or having to engage with the police directly.
Crimestoppers operates a freephone number and an online reporting tool through which members of the public can pass on information without giving their name or any personal details. The charity does not trace calls, does not record who has made a report, and guarantees that anyone providing information will never be required to speak to police, give a statement or appear in court. All reports are passed to law enforcement for investigation.
The campaign points to specific signs that residents should be alert to: frequent visitors to a property at unusual hours, people who appear to be under the control of others, or individuals who seem intimidated or exploited. Organisers stress that even partial or seemingly minor information can be significant — providing law enforcement with context that, combined with other intelligence, allows them to build a picture of criminal activity and intervene.
Alexa Loukas, London regional manager at Crimestoppers, said the charity received around 130 reports about crimes in Hammersmith and Fulham last year — roughly ten a month — covering offences ranging from drug dealing to firearms and knife crime. While that level of reporting showed that residents were willing to speak up, she said the charity believed many more people in the borough held information but did not know how to share it safely.
"Communities know their own neighbourhoods best," Loukas said. "When something doesn't feel right, that information — no matter how small — can be the missing piece that helps protect someone vulnerable or disrupt serious criminal activity."
Drug dealing is closely linked to wider patterns of serious harm. County lines operations, in which organised criminal networks use vulnerable people — often children or those with addiction issues — to move and sell drugs across urban and rural areas, are a persistent feature of the London drug trade. Grooming, exploitation and violence are common byproducts, and communities in which drug markets become established tend to see associated increases in antisocial behaviour and serious crime.
Drug crime is in the borough is 1.77 times the national average, based on 1,350 recorded drug crime reports. The borough has the 6th highest rate per population of drug offences in London.
In 2024-25, there were 1,489 residents in treatment for substance misuse, of whom 900 were using opiates and crack. However, an estimated 78% of opiate users and 71% of opiate and crack users are not in treatment — suggesting there could be as many as 6,000 people with substance misuse problems in the borough
Councillor Rebecca Harvey, Hammersmith & Fulham's cabinet member for social inclusion and community safety, said the council was asking residents to play their part by using the anonymous reporting route. "You will never be asked who you are, and only you will know you made the report," she said. "Working together, we can help reduce harm and keep Hammersmith & Fulham a safer place to live, work and visit."
Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously by calling 0800 555 111, free at any time of day, or by submitting a report online at crimestoppers-uk.org. Both routes are entirely anonymous.
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