Building better community spirit across London

Just over a week ago, I was delighted to announce the appointment of Bernard Hogan-Howe as the new Metropolitan Police Commissioner.

Bernard has a fantastic track record in cracking down on crime, and I was particularly impressed by his promise to build a Met that criminals fear and the police are proud of.

He has also promised to make the Met more open and transparent, and to restore the public’s faith in the institution after a challenging summer.

London’s emergency services were sterling in their efforts in dealing with the disturbances across London in August. What I found particularly heartening were the efforts of the ordinary Londoners who came out to help clean up areas blighted by the riots, showing the true spirit of our great city.

My hope is to build a better community spirit across London, but I want to know what Londoners think.

That’s why I’ll be in Sutton on Thursday 22 September to talk about community safety. We’re already doing some great work in this area, and before last month’s events, crime had been on a steady downward curve throughout the three years of my Mayoralty.

Since May 2008, over 10,000 knives have been taken off the capital’s streets, public transport is safer and we’ve invested an extra £42m to increase police numbers. We’re cutting the cycle of reoffending too through our specialist Heron Unit at Feltham.

We also recognise that young people sometimes need help to steer them away from crime. That’s why we’ve set up a mentoring scheme to provide positive role models for young black boys in need of extra support. I’m delighted that over 2,000 adults have signed up to help.  Through Team London we’ll boost volunteering even more and make sure that volunteers’ efforts go where they are needed most.

If you’ve got any questions or ideas on how we can make London even safer, come and join me at Talk London this Thursday.

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