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Local Resident Questions London Mayor
There can be little doubt what a positive influence the introduction of the Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNT) has had on reducing crime in our local area.
Overall crime figures for all of the local wards have seen a marked and sustained improvement since the launch of the scheme and this is beneficial for the community as a whole.
London Mayor, Ken Livingstone, frequently goes on record to state what a staunch supporter he is of the SNT and that he is committed to putting police on streets. According to at least one local resident, however, the figures which are quoted do not stand up to close scrutiny and far from running at full strength, many of the local SNTs are actually severely undermanned- which puts the PCSOs, PCs and ultimately, the general public at risk.
Pat Old is a member of the Safer Neighbourhood Ward Panel of Petts Wood & Knoll. This is a voluntary organisation drawn from the residents of that ward which aims to be representative of the community's wishes on the subject of crime and disorder. She decided recently to write an email to LBC radio station to ask Mr Livingstone some questions regarding the plight of her local SNT. The radio station subsequently contacted Pat and asked her to interview the London Mayor- live on the Nick Ferrari show.
Pat asked the Mayor questions regarding this situation highlighting the fact that the Petts Wood & Knoll SNT was actually undermanned to the tune of two officers for nearly two months- and what's more over the busy festive period.
She went on to say that the chair of the local SNT, Mark James, had contacted the Mayor's office on a number of occasions and, apparently, had received no reply. It had been postulated that this ward is of less interest than some being reasonably affluent and safe and therefore less likely to grab headlines.
Mark James has now contacted the Mayor's Office to query the fact that the Petts Wood & Knoll SNT was entitled to three fewer PCSOs because its population was 310 people below the 14,000 threshhold (the ward has 13,690 inhabitants.)
9:45am Tuesday 29th January 2008
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Your Petts Wood correspondents
Lauretta Wright has lived in Petts Wood for the past seven years. She is an active member of the local community, involved with a number of voluntary organisations. She has more than 13 years' experience in journalism.
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