As millions of Londoners and visitors head to the capital’s stores, shopping centres and local businesses for Black Friday sales and their Christmas shopping, the mayor and Met police said they are working together to increase partnerships, patrols and operations to catch criminals and make London safer.
Mayor Sadiq Khan on Tuesday visited a new mobile police station in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and joined officers on patrol to learn more about how they are working to make the park and busy surrounding area even safer day and night.
With more people out and about as London heads into the festive season, the new mobile police station is one of four across the capital being staffed by police officers and PSCOs – to respond to local queries, act as a deterrent to criminals and carry out targeted local patrols on foot and on bikes.
Within weeks of the mobile Stratford police station being set up in October, officers staffing the station identified and detained three suspects for robbery. The mobile station has also received positive feedback from local residents, businesses and commuters in an area which is exceptionally busy during the pre-Christmas period.
Since October, North East London, North West London, South West London, South East London have been deploying their own mobile police stations - which can move around different areas to work proactively with local communities and also respond to where there is greatest demand, based on intelligence and local community needs.
This enhanced approach to local neighbourhood policing is part of the New Met for London Plan which is being supported with record investment from City Hall.
The Met are spearheading targeted work in busy hotspots this Christmas season, such as Westminster, Westfield, Oxford Street, Battersea and major transport hubs, to tackle mobile phone crime.
Officers working out of the mobile police station in Stratford have built working relationships with business owners in shopping areas across Stratford town centre and are running regular Op Sting policing operations to target repeat shoplifting offenders.
Officers are working effectively with local businesses and organisations to prosecute offenders and obtain Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBOs) to exclude criminals from returning. A new data sharing agreement has also led to the quick exchange of information and intelligence to prevent, deter and detect suspects of retail crime.
“As the capital’s world-famous Christmas Shopping season gets underway, the targeted work police officers are doing in Stratford is a great example of the Met working with communities and local businesses to make our city safer and bear down on robbery, thefts and retail crime in all its forms,” Khan said.
“We know how important this golden quarter is for our business sector so I’m really pleased to see the police working effectively to bear down on the worst offenders – many of whom use the busy crowds and festive season as a cover for their crimes.
“As Mayor, I’ll continue to invest in policing, so that local community-based police teams – like the mobile police station I have seen today - can be there when the public need them most. This is alongside our vital work investing in prevention and intervention at critical stages in the lives of young Londoners so that we can build a safer London for all.”
Commander Pete Stevens from the Metropolitan Police said: “We are determined to make the streets of London safer and tackling theft and robbery is key to that.
“Thanks to excellent work from local officers we’re bringing perpetrators to justice and our mobile police stations are helping us make London safer. We look forward to working closely with the Mayor and local businesses to continue to tackle this issue.”
