Members of a Jewish security team have been praised by police for helping to detain a robber who attacked a woman.
The Shomrim volunteers held the teenager until officers arrived following the incident last month.
The 25-year-old victim was walking in Golders Green, north-west London, when she was attacked by three youths. Shomrim members intervened, along with other members of the public, and caught one of the assailants.
Gary Ost, Shomrim chief executive, said a member of the public had alerted the security group to the robbery. “Our control room staff immediately called police and simultaneously sent several volunteers to the location,” he said.
Detective Constable Andy Deamer said: “This was a very serious and harrowing attack. I would particularly like to thank the members of the community who came to the assistance of this woman and helped apprehending this suspect, putting themselves at risk.”
The 16-year-old attacker, from the Cricklewood area, admitted robbery at Willesden Magistrates last week. He will be sentenced on February 5. He cannot be identified because of his age.
Meanwhile Shomrim has released statistics showing the number of calls it received from the public in 2013.
There were more than 3,250 calls to the group’s hotline, reporting incidents including cash-point fraud, criminal damage and anti-social behaviour.
Nineteen per cent of calls — the largest number — reported burglaries. Antisemitism accounted for just one per cent of the reports.
