Policing articles
The Met and the Mayor must be honest about poor 999 responses
Writing for the OnLondon website, Caroline explains the statistics around deterioriating response times to 999 calls - as well as the way the Mayor has used the statistics to obscure the worrying underlying problems.
999 call response times must improve
At the London Assembly, Caroline raised with the Mayor and Met Commissioner the problems with the time taken for the Met to respond to emergency calls - including calls about incidents in London that were diverted to Hampshire Police!
Mayor admits to deteriorating 999 response times across the whole of London
The Metropolitan Police are regularly redirecting nighttime 999 calls to other police forces, the Mayor of London has admitted in response to questioning by Caroline Pidgeon. Over June, July and August, the Met diverted 2,820 emergency 999 calls to other police forces to handle.
In response to questioning the Mayor has also admitted:
A public health approach to tackling serious violence in London is long overdue
Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member, commenting on the Mayor's announcement that he is starting a new Violence Reduction Unit of specialists in health, police and local government to deliver a public health approach to tackling the causes of violent crime, said:
“This initiative is welcome and should have been adopted long ago.
What does London need from the Spending Review?
Keeping children in police cells overnight is unacceptable and shames our justice system
The London Assembly Police and Crime Committee has called on the Mayor and borough councils to urgently work together to provide suitable accommodation suitable for children detained in the capital. Despite the fall in the numbers of children arrested, many are still detained in police cells alongside adult offenders.
Supporting the committee's report, Caroline Pidgeon said:
Supporting Pauline Pearce in Hackney
Caroline got on the campaign trail with Pauline Pearce, the Lib Dem candidate for Mayor of Hackney.
In St John's ward it was good to see a knife amnesty bin, but it's clear we need more of these in safe places in the borough - and we need a new approach to tackling violence.
Caroline and Pauline also went to Hackney Downs and Dalston Kingsland station to campaign for proper step-free access.
101 police line keeps too many Londoners waiting on the phone
Figures showing the lengthy wait many Londoners face in attempting to contact the 101 police non-emergency line have been revealed by Caroline Pidgeon, the Liberal Democrat Londonwide Assembly Member.
Caroline's questions to the Mayor revealed that in 2017:
- Almost one million Londoners simply gave up seeking to get through to the 101 telephone line
- The average time during 2017 to get through was 4 minutes and 4 seconds, although in June 2017 it soared to 8 minutes and 20 seconds
Vulnerable children in London are waiting too long for the Met to improve
Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member and campaigner for better child protection, commenting on the fourth report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) on the record of child protection investigations undertaken by the Metropolitan Police Service commented:
“It is disturbing that 15 months after the first highly critical report was published, shortcomings are still rife in child protection investigations undertaken by the Met.
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