Hackney Council has launched a petition calling for the return of 100 police officers to the borough as violent crime has increased dramatically.
Hackney now has 22 per cent fewer police officers patrolling the streets of Hackney than in 2010, despite violent crime rising by 26 per cent in 2014/15, compared with the previous year.
The petition is directed at Boris Johnson, Mayor of London; Stephen Greenhalgh, Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, and Bernard Hogan-Howe, Metropolitan Police Commissioner.
The Metropolitan Police have removed 170 officers from Hackney over the past five years, when there was a force of 770 officers in the area.
170 police officers have been taken from Hackney – a 22% cut, far more than nearby boroughs http://t.co/uAPm006kiMpic.twitter.com/0vefn4O4Ze
— Hackney Council (@hackneycouncil) October 16, 2015
Deputy Mayor of Hackney, Councillor Sophie Linden said cuts to policing in the borough were “disproportionate, misguided and counter-productive”.
Ms Linden added: “Hackney has a great record on reducing crime over the past decade and overall this is still the trend. However, the increase in violence and theft we’ve seen over the past year is a real concern. We know people and businesses are increasingly worried.”
Sign the petition. Hackney needs a fair share of police. Campaign launched to return 100 police officers to Hackney http://t.co/YXfVzgPVis
— Sophie Linden (@SophieKLinden) October 9, 2015
The campaign follows the deaths of 17-year-old Marcel Addai, who was stabbed in Hoxton on 4 September and 25-year-old Moses Fadairo, who was shot dead in Lower Clapton on the 26 September.
Hackney Council said the Metropolitan Police has based the reduction in officer numbers on a “one year snapshot of demand” from 2010/11.
Operation Bantam, a response unit for gun and gang crime, has been disbanded and a team of 40 officers with responsibility for gang related incidents has been reduced to six officers, the council said.
The council added that the Met has failed to take into account a nine per cent increase in Hackney’s population and the growing popularity of night spots like Shoreditch when evaluating the number of officers required.
A spokesman for the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime said: “There is always more to be done to tackle crime across the capital, which is why the Mayor is making the case to the Home Office for the right level of funding in the upcoming comprehensive spending review.”
Hi Georgia, hopefully this link will work. http://www.chn.ge/1jcLa7C
Is it too late to sign the petition as I am unable to with your link. I am keen to sign up for more Police in Hackney.
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