Khan: Building a safer London
LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan has said tackling violence is his top priority as he will continue to lead from the front by being tough on crime.
Khan and the Metropolitan Police’s head of frontline policing, assistant commissioner Louisa Rolfe, joined local neighbourhood police on patrol in Peckham town centre last Thursday (10) to see firsthand the work being done by the officers, a statement from City Hall said.
The mayor said the level of violence in London remains high, and the cost of living crisis may jeopardise the progress being made to address violence in the city.
“Record investment from City Hall in the Met and London’s Violence Reduction Unit has meant violence in the capital has reduced since 2016, with knife crime, gun crime, burglary and teenage homicides all falling, bucking the national trend. But more must be done,” Khan said.
“The officers I’ve been out with on Thursday are part of 650 Town Centre and Safer Neighbourhood police officers directly funded by City Hall to take weapons off our streets, drive down violence and be there when the public needs them most so we can build a safer London for everyone.”
The Met said officers target the most dangerous offenders, maximising diversion opportunities and increasing their presence through targeted patrols in key hotspots across London’s communities.
It claimed that the level of knife crime and violence in London has been decreasing since before the pandemic.
This year, with support from the mayor, London’s Violence Reduction Unit is investing in positive opportunities for 70,000 young Londoners in the hope of shielding them from crime.
With a record 34,542 officers in the force, both the Met and City Hall are trying to restore trust and confidence in the police, improve the support for victims of crime, and build on the success made in driving down violence and crime to build a safer London, the statement added.
Rolfe said: “We are working every day to fight and bring down crime. Tackling violence is a team effort and our work with the mayor’s Violence Reduction Unit is crucial to this.
“We are clear that we are pro-actively and forensically targeting the drivers of violent crime, and this week, specialist teams have been tackling high-harm offenders involved in supplying drugs across London, including in Southwark.
“This builds on the success of the Met’s county lines response and is aimed at dismantling intra-London class A drug lines. This way of working brings together the skills and experience of specialist crime officers with the knowledge and expertise of local officers.
“Our job is to make it harder for violent and predatory people, drug dealers, criminals and those involved in organised crime to operate. We are also clear that violent crime cannot be solved by policing alone and everyone in the community can play a part.”