More Police Constables than ever before are set to patrol the borough’s town centres thanks to a £5 million boost from local taxpayers and businesses.
Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) Council is ploughing £1.3million a year into the Met’s coffers, with local firms adding an extra £350,000 a year.
The cash is being used to boost the standard Safer Neighbourhoods Teams (SNT) in the borough’s three town centres - which are based on one Sergeant, two PCs and three PCSOs and are paid for by the Mayor of London.
The new arrangement will see the council focusing its resources on more warranted officers, although the PCSOs that are funded by the Mayor of London will remain.
Cllr Greg Smith, Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) Council Cabinet Member for Residents Services, says:
“Beat bobbies beat crime and, despite the nationwide spending squeeze, we have found a way to improve our town centre squads by putting more PCs onto the front-line than ever before. This will give us some of the best Policed town centres in Britain.”
In 2007, H&F became one of the first councils in Britain to use its own money to pay for extra beat Police and the new arrangement will see 16 more PCs drafted on to the front-line compared to the old model.
By taking advantage of the Met’s ‘matched funding’ offer, taxpayers are also saving around £232,000 on the cost of buying-in PCs meaning the new contract offers far greater value for money to residents,
according to the council. The three-squads will work on tailored shift patterns designed to sharpen the focus on problem times and areas. The three year deal was formally approved on June 23..
“Residents are getting more cops for their buck than ever before,” continues Cllr Smith. “We are giving the Met the tools to cut crime and now we expect results. All inner city boroughs present significant
crime challenges but our goal remains to become one of the safest boroughs in the country.”
As part of the agreement, Westfield London is also paying around £750,000 over three years to provide a permanent onsite police team with high visibility patrols inside their centre. As well as acting on
ward priorities the enhanced Shepherds Bush SNT will deter property crime and anti-social behaviour inside the centre.
Westfield London is Europe’s largest inner-city shopping centre with 26 million visitors a year but is one of the safest with an average of less than 80 crimes committed inside the centre each month - a figure that is consistently falling.
HammersmithLondon Business Improvement District, which represents businesses around Hammersmith Broadway, is also ploughing in around £100,000 to help fund additional officers in the ward.
Cllr Smith concludes:
“In an age when Police budgets are tight, because of the need to tackle the nation’s massive budget deficit, it is up to councils and businesses to look at innovative ways that deliver what residents and customers want.
“The age of all Police officers being directly paid for by the Home Office or Mayor of London is over. If a business or local authority wants to buy in extra Police they should not just be able to - they should be encouraged to.”
Borough Commander, Chief Superintendent Lucy D'Orsi said:
“I am delighted that the council has agreed to continue their spending on enhanced policing within the three town centres. We are currently working with the local authority to finalise the targets and outcomes for these areas which fundamentally will be about reducing crime. A focus on these three areas will undoubtedly help us to reduce crime across the borough and disrupt criminals from moving around the borough. The re-investment in these teams sends out a strong message to those intent on committing crime in these areas that, as a borough, we will identify them and we will bring them to justice.”
Emma Hindes, General Manager at Westfield London, says:
“Westfield London is part of the local community and we are pleased to be contributing to ensuring the area remains safe and secure for residents and shoppers alike. We have worked closely with the council and the Metropolitan Police on this initiative and we feel it will benefit not only the shopping centre but the wider area.”
Matthew John, Operations Manager at HammersmithLondon, says:
“We decided to fund an additional team of beat Police to ensure the busiest streets in the area are kept safe. By consulting with local businesses, we realised the importance of having a visible security presence on the high street and instead of placing another set of private security guards on the streets we went for Police officers who are better trained and more ruggedly prepared to deal with all manner of situations.”
Brenhan Magee, Chairman of Fulham Pubwatch and owner of the Broadway Bar & Grill, says:
“Business around Fulham Broadway have worked closely with our local beat Police from day one and it is great news that we are getting more Police Constables. They are a reassuring presence around the area have definitely made the area safer. We have all worked very hard together over the past few years and the Broadway is now a much nicer place to be.”
To read more about crime and anti-social behaviour visit www.lbhf.gov.uk/crime.
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