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.
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!
Caroline said:
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:
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.
Caroline spoke at a London Councils event at Liberal Democrat conference on what London needs from the Treasury's spending review. Caroline stressed the funding pressure on London's public services, particularly Transport for London and the Metropolitan Police, and called for a better deal for London.
