Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police
A landmark agreement between the Met and a local authority will help bring frontline officers back into communities.
The opening of a police hub in Woodford provides Safer Neighbourhood officers with a dedicated base to enhance our response to issues such as anti-social behaviour, theft and vandalism.
It was made possible after Redbridge Council agreed to provide the co-location space to the Met and pay for the fit out of the hub, which means that officers can be stationed within walking distance of their wards.
Previously, following streamlining of the Met’s estate, officers policing that community were based around 20 minutes’ drive away.
The partnership between the Met and Redbridge Council demonstrates how agencies can work together to improve community safety.
It was formally opened by Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley and council leader Kam Rai on Thursday, 30 January, and will house up to 20 officers covering six wards.
It’s an important step towards the Met’s mission of delivering our strongest ever neighbourhood policing, which has already seen an additional 500 officers dedicated to working in communities across London ranging from Superintendents to PCSOs.
Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: “We are totally committed to making neighbourhood policing stronger than ever before so we can focus on tackling the crimes that matter most to Londoners.
“Having officers closer to the communities they serve is key to our success and the partnership with Redbridge Council ensures we can deliver this at a time when our budgets are being stretched.
“We have put an additional 500 officers into neighbourhood policing and our targeted approach has achieved a significant crime reduction in some areas. We want to go further and are already talking to local authorities to find solutions and ensure we can continue to deliver a great police service for London.”
The Leader of Redbridge Council, Cllr Kam Rai, said: “The new hub in Woodford is a prime example of how London boroughs can proactively play a vital role in bringing policing back into the communities they serve.
“This first of its kind, the hub will prove pivotal in helping to prevent antisocial behaviour and improve police response times across the west of Redbridge. This strategic location will significantly reduce the current travel time from Ilford, giving officers more time for local patrols and tackling issues.
“While we have a police station in Ilford and a base in Barkingside, the new hub means more officers will now be closer to the communities they look after.
“It was a pleasure welcoming Sir Mark Rowley to Redbridge, and we look forward to our continued close partnership with the Met Police to make our borough a safer place for local people.”
The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Kaya Comer-Schwartz, said: “Keeping communities safe is our top priority and I welcome this new policing hub in Woodford which will help build closer relationships between officers and the communities they serve and boost the local response to issues such as anti-social behaviour, theft and vandalism.
“The Mayor and I are determined to do everything we can to support the Commissioner to deliver a new Met for London where local neighbourhood policing is prioritised and communities are put first. We have backed this up with record funding from City Hall for the Met Police, as we work together to build a safer London for all.”
The opening comes after the Met was moved out of special measures because of the progress made in fixing the foundations of the organisation. Part of this progress is based on the work to deliver better neighbourhood policing across London.
Our new neighbourhood policing model has been bolstered by an additional 500 staff ranging from superintendent to PCSOs, working closer than ever with communities to understand their concerns.
Across Redbridge there has been an almost 13 per cent reduction in the number of offences in the previous 12 months, including fewer reports of violence, drug offences and violence against women and girls.
Recent local operations have seen:
- 65 bags of cannabis, six bags of cannabis resin and nine wraps of white powder, along with approximately £2,000, seized when a car was stopped in Goodmayes Lane.
- A man, later found to be wanted for three other burglaries, pursued and arrested after officers noticed an alarm at a commercial premises near Ilford station.
- Officers on routine patrols around Churchfields recover two machetes and a hunting knife from a building known to be used as a squat.
- Four arrests as part of an operation focused on offenders targeting victims making ATM withdrawals in Ilford town centre.
- Three machetes, a firearm, white powder and brown substance found in a property in Mayfield Ward as part of an intelligence-led operation. A man ran from the property, was located by a dog unit and arrested.
- Three vulnerable women rescued from a brothel by neighbourhood officers in Ilford.
- Two robbery suspects arrested by officers in the Orchard Estate after they stole a victim’s coat and recorded the attack on a phone.