The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is on track to deliver at least two dedicated neighbourhood PCs across all of London by the end of this year, with more than half of London’s neighbourhoods now covered.
The move towards dedicated ward officers, who know and are known by the community, is Sadiq Khan’s first step to re-establishing real neighbourhood policing
Having officers based in a specific area means stronger relations between Londoners and their police officers, where local communities are served by dedicated officers they know and trust, and who understand the area and people they police.
Sadiq Khan today confirmed that since introducing the plans in July last year, 295 new dedicated ward officers have been appointed and are now helping to police London neighbourhoods.
He also confirmed that all of London’s 629 wards – smaller sections of parliamentary constituencies - will have a minimum of two dedicated ward PCs and a dedicated Police Community Support Officer by the end of this year, with additional dedicated officers allocated according to local need.
The Mayor repeated his commitment to maintain the strategic target of 32,000 police officers across London, but warned that it would become increasingly difficult given the huge financial pressures facing the Met – particularly if there are further cuts from the government’s review of the police funding formula expected later this year.
This morning, the Mayor joined Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt in Kentish Town to meet the two Dedicated Ward Officers and PCSO.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “As Mayor, the safety of all Londoners is my highest priority and this starts with real neighbourhood policing. Today, I am pleased to be able to announce that we have delivered a second dedicated PC in 295 London wards.
"By the end of this year there will be two dedicated ward PCs and a dedicated Police Community Support Officer in every London neighbourhood. Our local officers should both know the community and be known by the community. Their local knowledge helps to prevent and detect crime, and they are the local eyes and ears of our security services.
"They are essential to improving trust and confidence in our police and keeping our communities safe. I am determined to maintain the strategic target of 32,000 police officers across London, but I want to be honest with Londoners that this will get increasingly difficult given the huge scale of government cuts to the Metropolitan Police Service.”
Assistant Commissioner, Martin Hewitt said: “Neighbourhood policing is at the heart of our work and in maintaining strong links with our communities. I am delighted with the progress we have already made to increase the number of Dedicated Ward Officers (DWOs) across London as more DWOs means that those links can be strengthened even further.”
The return to real neighbourhood policing is central to the Mayor’s new draft Police and Crime plan. All Londoners are invited to feed into the current public consultation which concludes in February.
The 295 newly dedicated ward officers are drawn from existing non-dedicated neighbourhood roles, and ‘ring-fenced’ from being called away to other duties. Until last year most wards had just one dedicated PC and one dedicated PCSO, with two dedicated PCs in around 100 of the highest-harm wards. Today’s announcement brings the total number of dedicated ward officers to 1,024, with all 629 wards to have a second dedicated officer by the end of this year.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- The new draft Police and Crime Plan is available for everybody to read online by visiting: www.london.gov.uk/police-plan
- The Mayor invites everyone to respond via the website or by emailing [email protected]
- Throughout the consultation the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime and MOPAC will continue to engage with the Met, stakeholders, partners, central Government and the community to better understand views on the priorities laid out in the plan.
- The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime has scheduled a number of workshops on the plan with senior leaders at the Met to ensure joint delivery plans are created.
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