Between 6 and 10 August last year, widespread rioting, looting and arson took place in London and across England. Indeed, as you’ll have seen on the news those riots were often characterised by rampant looting, deliberate arson attacks and random street violence accompanied by theft of unprecedented levels.
Along with so many others, Peter Romanov from Carshalton was caught up in the riots. His journey home from work on 8 August took him through Lewisham where, at the time, the riots were raging.
Peter was stopped at a made-up road block by several rioters and forced to abandon his car and all his possessions as he ran for safety. He was luckier than many other riot victims – he came to no physical harm and ‘only’ lost a car, his laptop and other material things that can be replaced.
As a consequence of his first hand experiences, Peter thought a lot about what would happen next: would the police be able to find the individuals responsible, and would they be brought to justice?
As a result, Peter decided to do something in the wake of this traumatic experience and decided he would raise money to support Crimestoppers, the independent charity helping to find criminals and to solve crimes.
Rights of citizens in their local community
Crimestoppers’ vision is that people dwelling in their communities have the right to live without crime and without the fear of crime.
When criminality does take place, Crimestoppers believes that anybody who knows those responsible should go to the police. However, many people who want to take action are close to the criminal and fear retribution. Here, Crimestoppers offers them the secure means to get that information to the police, in turn meaning that action can be taken and making their families and communities safer.
Peter will be raising money for Crimestoppers by running the 2012 Virgin London Marathon on Sunday 22 April. This will be Peter’s first-ever full marathon and it’s therefore a huge personal challenge.
However, Peter is hugely determined to rise to the challenge to raise money for a cause he believes in and also because he feels London is a great city offering so much to its residents.
Clear connection to the cause
In addition to his experiences during the riots, Peter has a clear connection to crime prevention through his profession. He has spent most of his professional life in the security industry.
Today, he works for an international security systems integrator and service provider offering technology solutions and services to help businesses, organisations and individuals protect themselves that bit better against crime.
All this links together for a good cause: Peter’s line of work and his love for London as a great place to live in, combined with his personal experiences and wish to support an organisation that helps others.
Looking for your support
Peter would like to ask you, the readers of Info4Security and SMT Online, to support him on this marathon journey. By doing so you will support Crimestoppers so that they can continue to help find criminals, solve crimes and make us all feel safer.
You can do this by donating the amount of your choice using Peter’s JustGiving page.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they will never sell them on or send unwanted e-mails.
Once you donate, JustGiving will send your donation directly to Crimestoppers and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer.
Put simply, it’s the most efficient way to donate – you donate securely and Peter raises more money while cutting costs for Crimestoppers.
For an update on Peter’s progress leading up to the big day please visit his London Marathon Facebook page
For further information on the Crimestoppers charity contact Giselle Lares on (telephone) 020 8835 3737 or, for JustGiving.com, call Mike Wells on 0845 021 2110
