Every London borough to get senior officer to lead local policing, says MPS
Every London borough will get a senior officer to lead local policing as part of the Metropolitan Police Service’s (MPS) drive to have its strongest ever neighbourhood policing presence.
From March, the MPS will put a senior police officer of superintendent rank into each of London’s 32 boroughs as part of an overhaul of the current neighbourhood policing model.
The MPS said the superintendents will be at the forefront of its work to deliver London’s largest ever neighbourhood policing with “better, more visible relationships with communities”.
Strengthening neighbourhood policing is one of the Commissioner’s nine priorities to deliver “change and transformation” under his ‘Turnaround Plan’ published earlier this month.
Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe, said: “Our neighbourhood teams will earn trust and confidence within their local communities through developing strong links with them.
“They will work with Londoners and use their policing powers to proactively identify, investigate and solve local crimes, anti-social behaviour and local problems.
“Communities need to feel involved in determining their policing needs and to know that the Met is there to solve the problems that matter to them – and we will be.”
The MPS said neighbourhood superintendents “are and will continue to be the senior point of contact for strategic partnerships”, such local authorities, residents and community safety partnerships.
“They will lead local policing teams strengthened through the Met’s growth with police officers recruited through the National Police Uplift Programme and more use of volunteers, including special constables,” it added.
“This year, thanks to investment from the Mayor of London, the Met will recruit 500 more police community support officers (PCSOs).
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “I’ve been very clear about the vital need to strengthen ties between the police and London’s communities – it must be the cornerstone of the Met’s efforts to keep crime down and rebuild public confidence.
“I welcome the Met’s plans to have a senior officer leading neighbourhood policing in every borough, creating better and more visible relationships with all the communities it serves.
“This is an important step forward which, combined with my proposals to fund 500 new PCSOs and invest record sums from City Hall in neighbourhood policing, will support [Commissioner] Sir Mark Rowley’s plans to restore real neighbourhood policing in our city and help build a safer London for everyone.”