Riot police will ‘swamp’ Seven Kings and Goodmayes in burglary crackdown
Police from the Territorial Support Group are seen in front of burning dustbins during the 'March for the Alternative' demonstration against government spending cuts in London. - Credit: PA Wire/Press Association Images
Seven Kings and Goodmayes will be “swamped” with riot police over the next two weeks in efforts to combat burglary.
Territorial Support Group officers, who police protests and respond to public disorder as well as doing anti-terrorism operations, also help London boroughs with priority issues.
Goodmayes Safer Neighbourhoods Team leader Sgt Seamus Hansford announced the move at the Area Five Committee meeting at Barley Lane Primary School, Huxley Drive, Goodmayes, on Monday.
He said: “I’ve got lots of extra officers out to patrol and reassure residents.
“They are going to be patrolling for the next two weeks from eight in the morning to midnight.
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“We will swamp the area with police officers.”
Burglary is a priority for police in Seven Kings, Goodmayes and Chadwell Heath, as well as vehicle crime and anti-social behaviour.
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Mr Hansford said officers will also be offering a state-of-the-art property marking kit to burglary victims.
The glue-like marks cannot be removed and contain a unique number identifying the belongings.
The Mayor of London’s new Police and Crime Plan could change the structure of SNTs dramatically, cutting dedicated officers from six to two.
Under the proposals, only one PC and one PCSO would be dedicated to each ward and the rest would be “deployed flexibly” across different areas.
Cllr Bob Littlewood said: “Having a team dedicated to one area is wonderful to deal with low level crime.
“The argument for moving people around would be flexibility.
“But our experience is that PCSOs have been moved around and I think it would be a backwards step if we removed them.”
Cllr Ali Hai said that, as a resident of Seven Kings, he does not “see police often enough”.
He added: “You can have an increase in numbers if officers are sitting behind desks there is no value at all.
“Residents want to see them on the beat and out on the streets.”
Redbridge as a whole would see an increase in police officers by 20 per cent to 530.
The committee agreed to pass on its concerns to cabinet over the “adverse impact” on SNTs, the need for visible policing and the possible use of new technology to make officers’ jobs quicker and easier.
