Minutes:
Chief Inspector Harper explained that he was responsible for the Safer Neighbourhoods Teams, Safer Transport and Safer Schools for the Southwark area. He outlined some of the roles within the police that local people could get involved with, including the cadets scheme where young people assisted the police with test purchasing and policing at events such as the London Marathon. Southwark had around 70 volunteer constables who were unpaid and gave several hours a week of their time and had the same powers as other uniformed police. The Met also had a volunteer manager programme where people volunteered at least 10 hours a week to work in mainly back office functions, this released police officers to patrol.
The Chief Inspector invited residents to take part in a review of Safer Neighbourhoods policing in the Borough. A questionnaire was available on the met police website which consisted of 9 questions around key areas of safer neighbourhood delivery. The consultation would be open until 21 January 2011. Chief Inspector Harper explained that the purpose of the review was to analyse whether the current model, of one sergeant, two constables and three PCSOs, was meeting the demands of local communities and whether it was appropriate to apply this model across all areas regardless of particular local needs.
The Chief Inspector took questions from the floor relating to the impact of saving cuts on policing, the level of police officers born in Southwark and the proportion of officers from BME backgrounds, the level of investment in safer transport in terms of road safety in the Borough. In response he explained that at a local level there was a commitment to at least the preservation of front line services and the community policing was the last place compromises would be made. He stated he would provide a written response to the questions on Southwark born and BME police officers and the level of investment in road safety as he did not have the statistics at hand.
Cllr Friary responded to additional questions on CCTV investment, the need for council and contractor staff to provided identification when visiting residents and premises licensing. Cllr Friary stated that the possibility of adding a community safety element to the information considered when the council takes decisions on planning and licensing applications was being explored.
Chief Inspector Harper finished the item by inviting residents to attend the next safer neighbourhood ward panel meetings:
East Walworth – Tuesday 21 December 7pm
Newington – Wednesday 2 February
Faraday – Wednesday 12 January