On Thursday, local London Assembly Member, Unmesh Desai AM, met with the Commissioner of the City of London Police, Ian Dyson. On the agenda was the ongoing work of the force to tackle fraud and cybercrime and their collaborative efforts with the Metropolitan Police to prevent terrorism and quell unrest and disruption in the capital.
Whilst City Hall has no powers over the City of London Police, there are many areas where they work closely with the Met Police, who fall under the Mayor of London’s jurisdiction, to ensure the safety of Londoners.
With the current threat level to the United Kingdom from international terrorism as ‘Severe’, there were discussions during the meeting around the joint work of the forces in implementing counter-terrorism operations such as Project Servator.
Project Servator involves the roll out of highly visible police deployments to strategic locations in the capital, aimed at deterring potential criminal and terrorist activity, whilst providing a reassuring level of police presence for Londoners.
On the back of this, Mr Desai highlighted the issue of security at places of worship following recent terror attacks in Sri Lanka and Christchurch. He has recently written to the Home Secretary on this matter, enquiring about the measures that the Government is taking to improve the take-up of the places of worship security fund it has put in place as part of its hate crime action plan.
Mr Desai also raised the level of strain put upon both police forces due to recent high-profile protests in the capital, such as those led by Extinction Rebellion. This followed on from the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Cressida Dick’s estimations, during a London Assembly Police and Crime Committee meeting, that the additional costs of policing the Extinction Rebellion protests to the Met has amounted to roughly £7.5 million.
During the meeting, Commissioner Dyson also underlined the large number of traffic and road incidents his force attends to. The latest data from Transport for London (TfL) reveals that during 2017, there were 54 people killed or seriously injured on the City of London’s roads.
The City of London Corporation are taking measures to improve road safety and reduce congestion in the local area, proposing a 15 mile per hour speed limit and Low Emission Zone to be introduced in the Square Mile.
In response to a written question submitted by Mr Desai in May 2018 on the collaboration between the Met and City of London Police, the Mayor of London replied, “The Metropolitan Police regularly work with the City of London Police in all areas of crime from terrorism and knife crime to policing football matches and other large public events.”
Local London Assembly Member, Unmesh Desai AM, said:
“In our capital, those intent on breaking the law do not pay attention to police force boundaries.
“This is why it is vital that the Metropolitan Police and the City of London work closely and effectively together to tackle all forms and crime and ensure the safety of Londoners.
“It was very useful to gain an insight from Commissioner Dyson into the City of London Police’s main priorities and some of the challenges they face. Going forward, this will inform my work on policing and crime in London from City Hall.”
ENDS
Related documents
Unmesh Desai Sajid Javid Places of Worship letter
Notes to editors
- A photo from the meeting between Unmesh Desai and the Commissioner of the City of London Police, Ian Dyson, can be found attached;
- The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre has set the current threat level to the United Kingdom from international terrorism to ‘Severe’;
- More information about Project Servator can be found here;
- Unmesh Desai AM’s letter to the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, on the Government’s hate crime action plan can be found attached;
- During a London Assembly Police and Crime Committee meeting, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Cressida Dick, estimated that the additional costs of policing the Extinction Rebellion protests to the Met has amounted to roughly £7.5 million;
- The latest data from Transport for London (TfL) has revealed that during 2017, there were 54 people killed or seriously injured on the City of London’s roads;
- The City of London Corporation are taking measures to improve road safety and reduce congestion in the local area, proposing a 15 mile per hour speed limit and Low Emission Zone to be introduced in the Square Mile;
- In response to a written question submitted by Mr Desai in May 2018 on the collaboration between the Met and City of London Police, the Mayor of London replied, “The Metropolitan Police regularly work with the City of London Police in all areas of crime from terrorism and knife crime to policing football matches and other large public events.”;
- Unmesh Desai AM is the London Assembly Member for City and East.
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