Andrew Dismore

At Mayor’s Question Time Andrew Dismore, Labour London Assembly member for Barnet and Camden challenged Mayor Boris Johnson over the proposal from Hampstead  and Frognal residents to ‘crowd source’ their own extra ward police officers, in light of the cuts to their Safer Neighbourhood Teams.  (video link attached)

Mr Dismore told the Mayor:

‘Residents in Hampstead, where there have been a number of particularly vicious and terrifying burglaries, want to ‘crowd source’ 3 extra police officers for their area on the basis of a BOGOF deal. Do you agree with the Borough Commander, that it would not set a good precedent and the Met should not entertain it; or with Zac Goldsmith, who says he has no objection to the idea?

‘Doesn’t  this show that even in affluent areas, people have little confidence in the strength of the police as a result of your cuts to Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNTs) and police station closures , to the extent they are prepared to go to such lengths to raise the money to restore their SNT to its original numbers?

After MQT, Mr Dismore added:

‘The Mayor’s response to the very real fears of Hampstead residents was woefully inadequate.

‘The root cause of the residents’ understandable  concerns  arises from a series  of  violent burglaries, at a time when their original SNT of 6 officers has  been cut to just 2 and Hampstead Police Station was closed,  as a result of the Conservative Mayor and Government’s dangerous cuts.

‘With the Met. now facing devastating further Conservative cuts of £1 billion, and even the Commissioner now speaking out to  predict the loss of up to 8,000 police officers,  along with a series of other front line cuts including  the

end of PCSOs and local borough based commands,  the ‘thin blue line’ is being stretched beyond breaking point.

‘It’s time the Mayor backed up the Commissioner, and spoke out in Parliament to demand an end to the cuts. But it seems he is now more concerned about his future career in the Conservative Party than his role as London Mayor to do so,  so Londoners should not hold their breath in waiting for the support of the Mayor   over the scale of the destruction of the Met. by his Government.’

reports of some recent violent attacks  http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/crime-court/urgent_calls_for_more_police_in_hampstead_after_woman_attacked_in_home_by_burglar_1_4212685 http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/crime-court/police_hunt_suspect_after_moped_ram_raiders_smash_into_hampstead_home_1_3984784 http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/crime-court/hammer_horrors_details_of_moped_trio_s_reign_of_terror_on_hampstead_streets_1_3963558 http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/crime-court/moped_muggers_strike_hampstead_seven_times_in_one_day_we_need_our_police_station_back_1_3716052

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