Safer Neighbourhoods Conference celebrates London success

04/06
25 January 2006

A major event is being held in London on 8 February to highlight a new policing initiative that has had a significant impact on law and order in the capital by driving down crime and raising public confidence.

Safer Neighbourhoods: the future of policing conference will celebrate the success of the Metropolitan Police Service's Safer Neighbourhoods programme, and the news that every neighbourhood in London can expect a dedicated police team by April this year - two years ahead of schedule.

The conference, being jointly hosted by the Metropolitan Police Service and the Metropolitan Police Authority showcases Safer Neighbourhoods as the greatest development in community policing London has seen in the past 30 years. It will be used to draw attention to the achievements of the initiative, its origins, and successes, and how it is impacting on public confidence and reassurance.

One of the day’s highlights will be the presentation of a £10,000 prize to a London Safer Neighbourhoods team as part of the capital’s first Problem Solving Awards. The money will be used for local crime reduction work.

The awards aim to draw attention to the need for community and multi-agency participation if local policing is to effectively tackle local concerns and problems. The winning entry will promote the importance of partnership working, tackle an issue that has been locally identified by the public as a concern and share good practice and learning.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair said:

“The support we now have for Safer Neighbourhoods - politically and financially - is delivering London something it has never had before - a sustainable programme of community policing that will make a tangible difference to people's lives.

“The public has made it clear they want Safer Neighbourhoods teams on their wards and I have absolutely no doubt that the teams are the future of local policing - providing an accessible, visible and accountable policing presence underpinned by genuine community engagement.

“Successful policing is a critical part of the infrastructure of a successful world city and the development of Safer Neighbourhoods is central to the important part played by the Met in the evolution of London as the city prepares itself for the Olympic Games in 2012.”

Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority Len Duvall said:

"Londoners have consistently told us that they feel reassured when they see a uniformed policing presence on their streets and in their neighbourhoods.

"In those places where we have already established teams across an entire municipal area, crime has fallen and public confidence has risen faster than in any other part of London."

Safer Neighbourhoods teams will be located in every part of London - in its 624 neighbourhoods - by April. These teams provide a dedicated service to their neighbourhoods (barring emergency situations such as terrorism) and are not switched to other duties. The police officers and police community support officers focus on local quality of life issues and visible anti-social behaviour, like graffiti and vandalism, and are making the service the MPS provides Londoners even more responsive and citizen focused.

Notes to editors

1. The conference will focus on:

• the importance of effective public engagement and empowerment
• the important role of police authorities in helping the public get the service they want
• Safer Neighbourhoods in practice - public engagement, problem solving and citizens' panels
• the vision for making London the safest major city in the world by 2012, taking into account the Government's Respect agenda
• the importance of understanding the needs of London’s citizens and why an active, engaged community is so important to neighbourhood policing issues.

2. The key to the event will be to tell the story of Safer Neighbourhoods, its importance to Londoners and the future of the programme.

3. Delegates will hear from a number of high profile speakers, including Sir Ian Blair and Len Duvall, the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, and Superintendent Philip Cline of Chicago Police, which has pioneered its own version of proactive community policing. Community representatives will speak about their experience of having a Safer Neighbourhoods team in their ward.

4. Among those invited will be police and local authority representatives from London boroughs; members of London police consultative groups and people's panels; London stakeholders; representatives from constabularies and police authorities in England and Wales; representatives from Government departments.

5. The event, to be held at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London, will take place on February 8, 2006.

Further media information

For further information, please contact the MPA press office

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