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Portrait picture of Sophie Linden London's Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime

Sophie Linden is London's Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime (DMPC) and brings with her national and local government experience. She was a special advisor to David Blunkett in the Department for Education and Employment from 1997-2001 before moving to the Home Office to work with the police in tackling crime and anti-social behaviour as a special advisor until 2004.

Whilst at the Home Office she worked with the Home Secretary and Ministers on policy development and strategy including:

  • police reform, crime and antisocial behaviour reduction
  • neighbourhood policing
  • reducing the harm caused by illegal drugs.

From 2006 Sophie was a Councillor at Hackney Council until her appointment by the Mayor of London. She is the former Deputy Mayor of Hackney Council with lead responsibility for:

  • crime and community safety
  • environmental health and trading standards
  • equalities
  • neighbourhood and civic engagement.

Hackney Council was named the ‘Council of the Last 20 years’ at the 2016 Local Government Chronicle (LGC) Awards which is a testament to the transformation of services that the Council has achieved. During Sophie’s time at Hackney the borough was also awarded the LGC editor’s award for Public Partnership working in 2014 for its ground breaking gangs unit. Sophie also led the council to achieving excellent on the Equality Framework for Local Government.

Sophie is a former member of the Local Government Association (LGA) Safer Communities Board, a peer reviewer for the LGA on community safety and a member of the HMIC advisory board on PEEL inspections.

Sophie has also worked in the voluntary sector as a campaigns and policy manager campaigning to end child poverty, and in the private sector as a Director of Public Affairs.

She has lived in Hackney for the last 30 years and has four children.

The role of DMPC

Outside of powers to issue a Police and Crime Plan, and to appoint and remove senior Met officers, the role of Deputy Mayor for Policing & Crime (DMPC) in London is similar to that of an elected Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) elsewhere. The Mayor in his MOPAC role has appointed a Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime (DMPC), Sophie Linden, to whom he has delegated all functions that are not reserved to him.

The DMPC leads MOPAC and is accountable to the Mayor for:

  • the delivery of the Police and Crime Plan
  • for ensuring oversight of the police
  • driving effective criminal justice and crime reduction services across London.

The DMPC works with a range of agencies and service providers to improve services in our city, and with one important exception – the national Strategic Policing Requirement – the DMPC does not answer to Whitehall, but to Londoners. She has a duty to consult with local people in setting her objectives.

In London, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police answers to the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, with a separate reporting line to the Home Secretary on national matters. They must at all times retain the confidence of both the Mayor (and DMPC) and the Home Secretary.

A list of the DMPC's expenses, gifts and hospitality and register of interests is available to view.