Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley [MPS]

• ON September 5 a packed, multi-generational, crowd of Camden residents, together with numbers of Camden police officers of all ranks, gathered at the Crowndale Centre to hear the police commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, talk about the A New Met for London plan.

Key aspects of the plan, now presented to all London boroughs, emphasise new trust, responsiveness and, above all, the firmest possible commitment to safer neighbourhood ward policing, the hugely successful initiative founded in 2004.

However, on a more sombre note, we also heard of the funding challenges Sir Mark faces in order to deliver the plan in full, notably the £287million lost to the Metropolitan Police Service since the Boris Johnson / Stephen Greenhalgh cuts of more than a decade ago.

It’s certainly true that the long-term experience of safer neighbourhood panels across Camden, like my own at Gospel Oak, is that our locally-based police officers are laser-focused on making a real difference to the communities they serve, and are truly appreciated by residents.

Unfortunately it’s also true there are currently simply not enough officers and PCSOs to fill the allocated posts on every ward.

There are reasons for this as well as purely financial constraints, but what really matters to communities is that local police officers and PCSOs are there to be seen and be accessible on a day-to-day basis.

At the September 5 event one of the very many young people present described all-too-typical Camden issues, in his case related to drug activity in his Euston neighbourhood, and the impact on him, his family, and friends.

Was neighbourhood policing working? Accepting this, the commissioner agreed that neighbourhood policing needs to – and very much does – look beyond enforcement alone to detailed partnership work with the council and other relevant bodies, funded or voluntary.

Yet councils themselves are under constant pressure from government austerity and cuts. The fact is that all agencies, including the police, working around community safety in Camden are determined to make a difference.

But they need the right financial support to ensure that existing practices, structures, and leadership can confidently move forward in a continuous process of improvement and effectiveness.

Support is needed not just by the MPS and council but also by the range of partner organisations that commit their energies every day to make Camden a safer place to live, work, and visit.

CHRIS FAGG
Chair, Gospel Oak Safer Neighbourhood Panel
& Trustee Camden Safer Neighbourhood Board