Changes to policing in Redbridge & London

The pilot in Redbridge started on 16 January 2017 Redbridge has been selected to be part of a tri-borough policing pilot with Havering and Barking & Dagenham This is one of two pilots being tested in London – the other is Camden and Islington The pilot in Redbridge started on 16 January 2017

The Met has to save around £400 million over the next 4 years The aim of the pilots is to test whether, by combining boroughs, significant savings can be achieved and that the model will work across London The 3 boroughs combined will be known as the East Basic Command Unit (BCU)

The Met hope to empower staff to make more decisions for themselves All the resources of the 3 boroughs will be shared across the BCU. This includes people, technology, buildings and vehicles The management structure will be streamlined to reduce management layers The Met hope to empower staff to make more decisions for themselves

The East BCU will be headed by Chief Superintendent Jason Gwillim Each borough within the area will have their own dedicated Superintendent The Superintendents will have cross borough responsibility for one of the 4 delivery strands Temp Ch Supt Mandy Beacher will be in Redbridge and will lead on Neighbourhoods

The 4 strands of BCU delivery will be: Neighbourhoods Emergency response policing Local investigation Protection of vulnerable people

For Neighbourhoods these changes mean: Each ward will have two Dedicated Ward Officers (DWOs) DWOs will be able to build relations with local communities DWOs will never be used for aid & removed from their wards They will work with ward panels to establish local priorities All Pupil Referral Units will have their own dedicated officer Redbridge will also gain additional DWOs for the pilot who will be located in areas of highest crime rates All DWOs have been selected and most are in place Middle management structure to be finalised by end of February

Other changes will mean: If an emergency call is made, nearest unit will be despatched, regardless of the borough it is from At present, all 3 custody sites will remain open Child abuse and domestic abuse investigations will be brought back into the borough Redbridge will have its’ own Neighbourhood and Partnership Inspector

It is hoped that the changes will bring about: A safer London with increased confidence in the police Improved decision making Making better use of the people in the Met Increased efficiency & productivity Safer communities A modern and efficient Met

At the same time as the pilot is taking place in East London, Mayor Sadiq Khan is consulting Londoners on his draft Police & Crime Plan for 2017-2021 The previous plan from Boris Johnson focused on 20% crime reduction; 20% costs reduction; 20% increase in confidence

The draft plan for 2017-2020 is not target driven in the same way Over the last 4 years the Met have been judged according to their performance against the MOPAC 7 – the 7 crime types identified as being most in need of reduction such as burglary, robbery, violence with injury etc. Over the period of time that the MOPAC 7 were in place, Redbridge was the top performing borough across London

The new plan recognises that local communities are best placed to identify what crime types local police should be prioritising Instead of setting specific crime reduction targets London wide, the Mayor wants this to be done in boroughs

Keeping children & young people safe Instead, there will be 3 overarching priorities: Keeping children & young people safe Tackling violence against women & girls Standing together against extremism, hatred and intolerance

The plan also talks about the changes it wants to see in the Met to deliver these new ways of working. The increase of DWOs is part of this. Although the consultation document is 67 pages long, there is also an Easy Read version of 24 pages. Both are available to download at: https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/mayors-office-policing-and-crime-mopac/mopac-consultations/your-views-policing-and-crime

The documents can be downloaded from: https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/mayors-office-policing-and-crime-mopac/mopac-consultations/your-views-policing-and-crime Closing date for the consultation is 2nd March You can respond online at: Londonvoice.org.uk/policeandcrimeplan Email: consultation@mopac.london.gov.uk Writing to: Police & Crime Plan Consultation, MOPAC, City Hall, The Queen’s Walk, London, SE1 2AA