Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member, has revealed that the Mayor of London’s pledge to restore community policing is being broken in numerous wards across the London boroughs.
Back in December 2017 Sadiq Khan boasted that he has successfully delivered on his promise to deliver at least two dedicated Police Constables and one dedicate Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) in every ward in London.
Concerns about changes to the way London Boroughs help fund extra police officers have recently been raised by at City Hall by Caroline Pidgeon AM, the Liberal Democrat Assembly Member.
During the London Assembly session to consider the Mayor's final draft Budget, Caroline pressed him on Crossrail and PCSO numbers.
Caroline Pidgeon has criticised the lack of participation by St George's hospital, and the Chelsea and Westminster NHS trust, in a scheme that aims to tackle hidden violence on the street by reporting anonymised information about violent injuries.
Caroline told the Evening Standard:
"This data-sharing scheme is highly effective. For a hospital, especially in London, to opt out of the scheme is truly horrific. As the scheme does not involve any breach of personal data there really is no excuse.”
In the London Assembly's session to consider the Mayor's draft consolidated budget, Caroline sought assurances that any extra money found ahead of the final budget (through surplus business rates revenue) is allocated to policing and tackling crime.
At January 2019's Mayor's Question Time, Caroline raised her concerns with over the number of deployable Police Community Support Officers in London. With vacancies and officers on long-term sick leave, places like Streatham can end up with one PCSO left to cover four wards. This is not sustainable.
Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member, commenting on the Mayor of London’s appointment of Councillor Lib Peck, the Labour leader of Lambeth Council, as the first head of the Violence Reduction Unit at City Hall, said:
At the London Assembly Budget and Performance Committee, Caroline questioned the Mayor on the Met's Patrol Plus Scheme which allows boroughs to fund extra police officers to tackle local priority issues. The scheme is currently under review, and it's vital that boroughs get clarity on its future as soon as possible.
Caroline was disappointed with the Met Police Commissioner's answers in the London Assembly around the Met's response times to 999 calls. It's clear from the figures that the police aren't meeting their targets, and this is a real concern.
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.
