Rise in Croydon Police taken away from the borough

7.14.24am UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 20th Apr 2004

Figures released by the Liberal Democrat London Assembly team show that, despite assurances by Ken Livingstone, the number of officers taken away from their duties in Croydon for central policing has increased by over 35% in the last year.

Liberal Democrat London Assembly Spokesman for Croydon & Sutton, Steven Gauge said -

"When local residents are crying out for a more visible police presence on our streets, it is ridiculous that officers who should be dedicated to Croydon are being sent to Central London."

Liberal Democrat London Mayoral candidate and former Shadow Home Secretary, Simon Hughes MP has proposed a Minimum Policing Guarantee. This would ensure that there are eight uniformed officers in every ward, of every borough, by 2006.

Simon Hughes said -

"This would ensure the police will not only become recognised as part of that neighbourhood, but become trusted by the community they serve and tackle their fear of crime."

ENDS

The Liberal Democrat London Assembly team revealed the number of police removed from their duties in local Boroughs in Feb 2003 and Feb 2004 were as follows.

Number of days of aid provided per Borough Command Unit officer.

12 months to Feb 2004 vs 12 months to Feb 2003

BOCU 2002-3 2003-4 % change

CW City of Westminster 6.18 9.58 +55.0

BS Kensington & Chelsea 6.35 8.63 +35.9

EK Camden 5.55 7.57 +36.4

FH Hammersmith & Fulham 8.66 8.62 -0.4

GD Hackney 5.99 7.40 +23.5

HT Tower Hamlets 6.63 7.96 +20.0

JC Waltham Forest 6.22 8.54 +37.3

JI Redbridge 6.17 8.78 +42.3

KD Havering 5.66 8.87 +56.7

KF Newham 5.70 8.51 +49.3

KG Barking & Dagenham 5.24 7.77 +48.3

LX Lambeth 5.81 8.19 +41.0

MD Southwark 5.43 8.25 +52.0

NI Islington 6.47 8.50 +31.4

PL Lewisham 6.49 9.17 +41.3

PY Bromley 5.49 8.91 +62.3

QA Harrow 5.11 7.88 +54.2

QK Brent 5.78 8.09 +40.0

RG Greenwich 5.81 8.89 +53.0

RY Bexley 6.15 8.32 +35.3

SX Barnet 5.78 8.00 +38.4

TW Richmond 6.39 8.28 +29.6

TX Hounslow 6.22 8.06 +29.6

VK Kingston 6.17 9.32 +51.1

VW Merton 6.10 9.06 +48.5

WW Wandsworth 6.30 8.24 +30.8

XB Ealing 6.22 7.73 +24.3

XH Hillingdon 6.06 7.52 +24.1

YE Enfield 6.35 8.06 +26.9

YR Haringey 6.53 8.62 +32.0

ZD Croydon 5.98 8.08 +35.1

ZT Sutton 5.01 9.03 +80.2

OVERALL TOTAL/AVE 194/6.06 268.43/8.39 +38.4

No of aid days provided in total by BOCUs:

March 2002 - Feb 2003 108,921

March 2003 - Feb 2004 155,314

Increase of 42.6%