Louie French, Member of Parliament for Old Bexley and Sidcup, has raised again his concerns over the Mayor of London’s failure to keep Londoners safe and the negative impact of the Mayor’s tri-borough policing model on Bexley’s policing and resources.
In an urgent statement in the House of Commons which debated the concerning findings of Baroness Casey’s inquiry into the Metropolitan Police, Louie took the opportunity to highlight the importance of thousands of decent and hardworking police officers remaining focused on fighting crimes to help rebuild public trust, and he also asked the Home Secretary to urge the Metropolitan Police and Sadiq Khan to reverse their tri-borough policing policy.
Baroness Casey’s review highlighted many concerning aspects of policing in London and the need for reform, but one area of her report which didn’t get much attention was the impact that the tri-borough policing model (also known as BCU) introduced in 2018 has had on neighbourhood policing. The report highlighted how this one size fits all approach is nonsensical and does not reflect the policing needs of different parts of London. In Bexley, this is because we share resources with higher crime areas such as Greenwich and Lewisham, rather than the likes of Bromley with similar crime patterns.
Louie therefore continues to call for reversals to tri-borough policing to ensure Bexley can return to community policing and make sure all local residents feel safer. Louie particularly wants to ensure reported crimes in Bexley receive appropriate follow-up from the Police which there are concerns over largely due to the inefficiencies of the operating model and officers being redeployed to other boroughs on a regular basis which has a knock-on effect on local crime fighting.
Speaking at the statement on Baroness Casey’s review of the Metropolitan Police, Louie said:
“Today’s findings are very concerning and I know that my right hon. and learned Friend will do what she can to hold the Met and the Labour Mayor—the police and crime commissioner for London—to account after seven years of failure. What assurances can she provide that the thousands of decent and hard-working police officers can continue to focus on fighting crime, which I believe is the best way to restore public trust? Will she please urge the Met to reverse Sadiq Khan’s tri-borough policing policy, which continues to negatively impact policing in Bexley and starve it of resources?”
In response, the Home Secretary stated:
“Thanks to this Government, the Met now has a record number of police officers—the highest it has ever known in its history. That increase in meaningful resource on the frontline will make a difference to how it effectively polices and safeguards Londoners. We have also seen a cash increase in Met funding since 2010, and that is being put into increased resources. It is vital that we now work with Sir Mark and his team to ensure that there is a proper turnaround.”
