Andrew Dismore

Notice of Meeting

Barnet Labour Group & London Assembly Labour Consultation on Policing to be held immediately after Deputy Mayor Stephen Greenhalgh’s one hour ‘sham consultation’

 

As you may be aware, the police in Barnet have suffered major cuts, since the last general election:

Official figures from answers given at Mayor’s question time

This means 160 fewer pairs of eyes and ears, to keep Barnet safe. That is before you take account of the reduction in police civilian staff, whose jobs also need to be filled, often by warranted police officers. Some of the Safer Neighbourhood local policing teams have been halved in strength.

You may also have heard of London Mayor Boris Johnson’s plans to cut police stations in the Borough. The police stations at Whetstone and Golders Green are proposed to close to the public, and Barnet police station only to open on reduced hours, leaving just one police station, Colindale in the west of the Borough, open all day.

Mayor Johnson says he wants to increase police numbers on the beat, but the additional officers he proposes will not even take us back to where we were nearly 3 years ago – and will be at the expense of drastically changing the way our Safer Neighbourhood Teams are organised. They will be deployed outside their own designated wards, meaning that some areas will see far less of their teams, than they do now.

The good news is that the Mayor says he wants to consult on his plans. But the bad news is that for Barnet, this will comprise just one public meeting of only one hour, with the Deputy Mayor for Policing, Stephen Greenhalgh.

In view of the very short duration of the Mayor’s meeting, Barnet’s Labour Councillors and Andrew Dismore, Barnet and Camden’s London Assembly Member are organising our own Labour Listens consultation event immediately afterwards to hear from residents. It will start when the Deputy Mayor’s meeting finishes and will allow the discussion to continue with your Labour Councillors and local London Assembly member Andrew Dismore, London Assembly Member for Lambeth & Southwark Val Shawcross and Londonwide Assembly members Fiona Twycross and Tom Copley, as the Assembly has oversight of the police.  We want to hear your views, so that Councillors can pursue the issues with the Council and Borough commander and the Assembly Members can feed these back at their meeting with Mayor Johnson and the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan Howe on Wednesday 16^th at City Hall, and into the Greater London Authority (including the police) budget meetings to come later in the month and in February.

The details of the meetings:

The Deputy Mayor’s meeting:

At 6pm 14^th January 2013, Hendon Town Hall the Burroughs, London NW4 for one hour only.

To attend, you must preregister at: www.london.gov.uk/policingevents

We would encourage you to go and try to have your say, brief though it is likely to be!

and

The Labour Listens event organised by Andrew Dismore AM and Cllr Alison Moore, with Val Shawcross AM, Fiona Twycross AM, Tom Copley AM, Barnet Labour’s lead on community safety Cllr Alex Brodkin and your local Labour councillors will be

At 7.15 pm 14^th January 2013, in the Council Chamber, Hendon Town Hall, The Burroughs, London NW4, for the rest of the evening.

No preregistration required, but please confirm your attendance if possible by office@labour4barnet.com

Please come and give us your views on the future of policing in Barnet – we are listening.