Ruislip & Eastcote & Northwood Gazette
Fewer officers on the beat due to Queen’s funeral and protests
SUPERINTENDENT EXPLAINS TO HOUNSLOW RESIDENTS RECENT CHALLENGES FOR POLICE
THE Metropolitan Police has said there have been fewer officers on the streets of West London because of the Queen’s funeral and protests made by Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil.
IT training is also taking police officers from neighbourhood patrols as they learn the new system that will reportedly make the force “more efficient”.
Superintendent Anthony Bennett told councillors and members of the public at the Central Hounslow Area
Forum on Thursday November 10 that a “common complaint” from residents was about a lack of officers on the streets.
Supt Bennett said making officers more visible on the streets of Hounslow had been a “significant challenge” in the past few months.
This comes after a number of serious incidents on the streets of the town within just one week.
On November 2, a woman in her 60s was hospitalised after she was reportedly pulled into an alleyway near Martindale Road and raped. Five days later a 14-year-old boy was fighting for his life in hospital after being stabbed outside Tesco in Hanworth Road.
Supt Bennett said: “We’ve also faced challenges around response team resourcing. Some of your neighbourhood officers have had to be used for those cordon incidents and help back response teams.
“One of our priorities is that we meet that critical demand if someone is ringing for help.”
He reassured residents that officers do remain on the streets, just with different units.
He added: “They are out there, they haven’t totally disappeared, there are just not as many out there at the moment as we’d like. Please be rest assured they are out there on the streets doing the work, and where there is critical demand we are making sure we are getting officers there and making sure they are policed.
“After some of the incidents we have seen over recent weeks in Hounslow, we’ve been able to flex a number of officers into those locations to provide reassurance as well. So where we need to, we’ve got officers and we will put them in there.”
The Met Police Commissioner Mark Rowley has committed to introducing 1,600 new Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) into the force. But, it is not yet known how many will be in Hounslow.
Supt Bennett said: “Having supervised PCSOs at a sergeant and inspector level, the benefits a PSCO can bring are quite substantial.
“Also, they get abstracted from their daily roles less than police officers so it should be a more permanent presence on your streets.
“We are expecting some changes to be made very soon and hopefully get more officers, keep them out on the streets doing the business of engaging with the public and keeping your street safe.”