Boris Johnson’s police cuts

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BorisBy Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

Boris Johnson is today facing calls to explain whether there will be cuts to frontline police officers and local police teams in London, after a letter from a senior Metropolitan Police officer (Detective Chief Superintendent Neil Basu, Barnet Borough Commander) revealed that there will be, “a reduction in police and police staff numbers” and that, “Safer Neighbourhood Teams may reduce in size in the short term.”

Johnson’s manifesto said, “I also support neighbourhood policing, and will continue to provide the resources for Safer Neighbourhood Teams.”

Despite Deputy Mayor for Policing, Kit Malthouse, claimed as recently as last week that, “we will be able to protect the frontline and maybe put more people on the frontline” – this no longer appears to be the case.

Responding to today’s letter, Labour’s candidate for Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, said:

“Boris Johnson has repeatedly denied there will be any impact on frontline policing or that there will be cuts to safer neighbourhood teams and just last week the Deputy Mayor for Policing claimed, ‘we will be able to protect the frontline and maybe put more people on the frontline.”

“This letter blows that out of the water and shows that the Mayor is planning cuts to the overall number of full time police officers and cuts to the size of the capital’s 630 safer neighbourhood teams.”

Meanwhile shadow home secretary Ed Balls MP warned of the “double whammy” that Londoners will face:

“London now faces a double whammy of cuts to policing. On top of the Mayor’s cuts, the coalition government’s spending review imposes 20% cuts in central government funding for policing. That could mean thousands fewer police officers and Police Community Support Officers across the capital.

“For all their talk before the election, the Tories and Lib Dems have failed to prioritise policing and both the Mayor and the Home Secretary are taking big risks with the public’s safety. It’s now left to the Labour Party to stand up for the law-abiding majority against these reckless cuts.”

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