We think there is absolutely no excuse that could be accepted for any lack of law enforcement.

Whilst we look forward to the Mayoral elections in Greater London in May, we need to make a choice for who is going to be our Mayor and also the Police and Crime Commissioner for Greater London.

A lot of arguments are made online by various people claiming that Mayor Khan failed to recruit police officers when he had been given the money to do so by the government.

The sums involved vary from publication to publisher, here are a few:

Neil Garratt AM claims the sum of £70 Million in costs were incurrent because Sadiq Khan recruited only 3.000 officers instead of the 4.500 funded by government.

@GOVUK offered @MayorofLondon an extra 4,500 @metpoliceuk officers. But they were not recruited so the money had to be repaid, all £70 Million https://t.co/E7vvCXvMhD

— Tower Hamlets Crime Watch (@th_crime_watch) January 26, 2024

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

The Standard

writes on the 4. August 2023 that Scotland Yard lost £30.8m in Government funding as a result of failing to meet recruitment targets, accounts state. The same article says: “

But a Home Office spokesperson insisted that it has provided more year-on-year funding for the Met overall for the 2023-24 financial year, saying the force would actually receive an additional £102m compared to last year.

“Against the backdrop of devastating Government cuts, the Mayor is doing everything he can to support the Met to recruit and retain the best officers to serve London’s communities,” said a spokesperson for the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.” Source

On 11. January 2024 the Standard reports that: “

Scotland Yard has warned ministers and City Hall that it risks being unable to police London effectively and overhaul its performance because of a £250 million funding shortfall as it seeks to win more money for the coming year.

The force says that rising demand and changing crime patterns, which are both affecting the capital disproportionately, are among the causes of the huge gap in its budget for the next financial year.” Source

I think it’s not just police numbers or changed crime patterns, it’s also about how the Met itself is organising it’s officer recruitment, training and staffing structure.

Closed police stations:

This means officers have been turned into walking offices. The average local bobby no longer sports the high top hat but has a bulky lot to carry around the body and belt. People no longer coming to stations to submit crime reports means officers carry mobile crime report booklets, they have to fill in on the go. Making crime reports less reliable because they are done in hand writing on the spot on small size paper. Also the sheer weight an officer has to carry, including the stab proof vest, the belt with all sorts of gadgets and the vest with office equipment, puts a lot of strain on officer’s bodies. 

Also a lack of police stations makes it harder for visitors to find somewhere to turn for help. Brick Lane for example. Used to have a small station visiting tourists could pop into but now there is none. Pick-pocketing is rife, mobile phone theft at record levels but tourists coming to London may not be aware how to report online or where to go to. There is only one open station in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Bethnal Green Police station 12 Victoria Park Square, London E2 9NZ Tel: 0300 123 1212

No canteens:

This is the worst effect of closed police stations or a lack of police stations that in those stations still open, the canteen may have been removed to accommodate the staff that needs to be there because other stations have been closed. This leads to officers having to eat out in local cafes or pop into the local supermarket on a way to an call to get some refreshment. Making life more unhealthy for officers and probably increasing the sickness rate. Also those looking for reasons to complain about police take the opportunity to complain about them parking their cars on double yellow line to pop into a shop for some food.

Officer training:

Whilst it seems a great opportunity to get a free degree whilst training to become an officer; the training schedule itself means that officers frequently change position and are channelled through departments quickly. A local SNT sergeant can be there as little as six weeks just to learn the job. Not very good for the local team because no officer can learn a role within 6 weeks.

Officer deployment:

Officers cannot choose where they would like to work, they literally get shuffled to wherever the force sends them to at any time. So if an officer starts to investigate a case but suddenly gets told he has to move elsewhere, that upset a few people leaving the profession altogether.

These are just a few reasons why working conditions for police officers are less than ideal. It is not just a matter of numbers or crime patterns, it is also a matter of morale and working conditions.

We are very helpful to police and make crime reporting available to help them solve crimes more easily. See the previous report about large scale prosecution of local drug dealers.