• Question by: Elizabeth Howlett
• Meeting date: 10 December 2003

As link member for Bromley, I just wonder, Lord Harris, whether in fact you have the right information. The Chief Superintendent has managed to change the duty roster and he also has a charging unit for the sergeant that runs it so that when an officer comes in with an offender he is handed over to the charging unit. The officer is then able to go out on to the streets again, which increases visibility. I wonder whether you have the right information because certainly they have the highest visibility of officers in the Met. I would like to ask...

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 10 December 2003

Recognising and welcoming the arrival of those extra resources, nonetheless what steps will you use to make sure that they are not offset by continuing increases in the number of abstractions? For example, the number of abstractions in Bromley from 2001/02 to 2002/03 increased by 82%.

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 10 December 2003

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 10 December 2003

I am grateful for the recognition of good practice. I hope that there is also a recognition that there is a legitimate public interest, given that the public are ultimately my and your paymasters, in reflecting their aspirations and priorities for a much greater level of visible reassurance policing, particularly in outer London.

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 10 December 2003

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 10 December 2003

Would you accept therefore that that is a woeful acceptance of an unacceptable position? Would you concede that in fact people in Bromley probably think that 46% is not enough? What specific proposals will be brought forward to drive up the amount of time of visible public contact by police officers, not just in Bromley but across London as a whole?

• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 10 December 2003

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 10 December 2003

I think Londoners will be pleased to hear the reassurance from the Commissioner that speed cameras are there for public safety rather than to raise revenue. One of the more positive initiatives has been to paint speed cameras yellow so that they act as an aid to safety rather than as a money raiser. Will you undertake to do what you can to ensure that the Mayor's new mobile speed cameras are also painted yellow and highlighted so that they contribute to safety improvements in London and are not just seen as a way of raising money? ... mobile speed...

• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 10 December 2003

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 10 December 2003

I wanted to give either the Commissioner or the Chair an opportunity perhaps to amend a false impression that has been created in the media recently that the police are in some way opposed to traffic calming. Certainly my post-bag tells me that this is an issue that people are very anxious about in the community; I think Jenny is absolutely right about that. Secondly, where boroughs seem in my view to be ill-advisedly removing traffic calming, might the police take a view as to whether those boroughs are being unhelpful in their role of protecting public safety.