John Biggs AM has challenged London Mayor Boris Johnson at today’s Mayor’s Question Time on flaws in his Local Policing Model in Spitalfields and Banglatown which have seen serious spikes in violence and burglary.
Since the Mayor’s Local Policing Model has been rolled out one year ago, Spitalfields and Banglatown have seen an overall increase in Violence Against the Person of 18% and an 87% increase in burglary of people’s homes. Other areas that are seeing increases are Theft of Motor Vehicles (15%), Theft from Motor Vehicles (47%), Theft from Shops (31%), and Criminal Damage to Homes (68%). In Tower Hamlets, overall violence against the person is up by 4% and burglary by 5%.
At a policing plenary on 5th March, the Mayor admitted that ‘there may be unintended consequences of the Local Policing Model that are leading to problems on borough boundaries. At the same meeting, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe confirmed that he would be reviewing the model in the coming months.
John Biggs, Labour London Assembly Member for City and East London said:
“It is widely recognised that there is now a booming night-time economy in Spitalfields and Banglatown. The loss of dedicated Safer Neighbourhood Teams has allowed the Borough Commander to deploy officers in the ward when needed, but the spikes in crime such as burglary are a serious cause for alarm for residents and beg the question about whether ‘neighbourhood policing’ and community reassurance have been lost in this ward. I am glad that the Mayor has today recognised these anxieties and I urge him and the Metropolitan Police to carry out a review into the model to ensure that no Londoners are left unsafe as a result of the new measures.”
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