Steve Reed MP shows very little regard for what is really happening with Policing in Croydon in his letter last week.

In Croydon, the permanent Police establishment has been level for some years now but these proposals will see us receiving an extra 117 fully warranted officers in the borough, 110 of them going into local policing across the borough. The 740 officers we will have is a significantly bigger share from the Met than we ever received under Ken Livingstone.

It is the case that the Met have to reduce their spending in the economic crisis, but they are doing so by removing buildings that are unfit for purpose in the modern Policing world and have only a handful of visitors per day, taking up warranted officers who would be much better used out on the streets.

Instead, the Mayor’s Office is proposing at least the same number of local bases and contact points around the borough. They also have the new custody centre on Windmill Road, which will have its own enhanced front counter. I realise Mr Reed is new to Croydon but I would have thought he would be aware of the Windmill Road base considering it is in his constituency, yet his letter did not mention it once.

As part of the consultation, the Council has also lobbied for a base on London Road and we hope that message will be taken on board.

I believe 100% that it is better to have Police Officers out on the streets instead of shut up in offices and that we are better off having more Police Officers in Croydon than protecting outdated bricks and mortar. I welcome the extra officers we are about to see in Croydon. The Labour Party is simply on the wrong side of this argument in wanting to protect buildings over police officers.

Cllr Simon Hoar
Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Public Protection