Police update - Lower Richmond Road robbery - 23rd May

Dear Resident

Following a high profile incident on 23rd May 2025 close to Rocks Lane, Putney whereby a teenage boy was set upon and attacked for his phone, I would like to take this opportunity to provide a policing update. The footage of the incident was truly shocking and rightly raised questions around the issue of youth violence, street crime and the local police response. 

Upon arrival at the scene officers conducted a series of initial enquiries including establishing victim and witness details, identifying & securing CCTV and forensic opportunities. Putney neighbourhood officers with local knowledge were able to identify a number of the suspects from a video that was taken at the time. Working in collaboration with colleagues from CID and our proactive offender team, five suspects were arrested and were later interviewed. Three of the suspects were remanded in custody, two other individuals are currently on bail awaiting charging advice from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).  In our relentless pursuit to bring all those involved in this incident to justice, two further suspects have since been identified. Our officers continue to make enquiries to locate and arrest them. 

Fighting violent street crime remains our priority. We will pursue all possible lines of enquiry to arrest those involved in such criminal activity. 

If you ever experience this issue or have information regarding an incident, please report it using our online reporting tools at https://www.met.police.uk/, speak to an operator in our Force Communications Room via our online web chat or call the non-emergency number 101.  In an emergency always call 999 and ask for the police. 

Alternatively, you can stay 100% anonymous by contacting the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via their untraceable online form at crimestoppers-uk.org.

Regards

Inspector Steve Burke - Putney Neighbourhood team