Fresh call to return police officers despite no PCSO cuts
Deputy Mayor Cllr Sophie Linden - Credit: Archant
Despite plans to axe Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) from the streets of the borough dropped, Hackney Council is still calling on the police to do more.
Earlier this month, a proposal to scrap all 1,000 PCSOs roles in London neighbourhoods was rejected by Met Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe.
It meant none of the 36 Hackney PCSOs would be removed from our streets.
The news was welcomed by London Assembly Members at City Hall during the meeting with police chiefs but Hackney Council still want more officers returned to ensure that crime reduction continues.
Deputy Mayor, Cllr Sophie Linden, said: “While it is good news that the Met won’t be further cutting the number of PCSOs, the number in Hackney has already been reduced. And the number of police officers has also fallen.
“That’s why Hackney is still calling on the Met and the Mayor of London to return 100 officers so that the long record of crime reduction is not put at risk.”
In October, Hackney Council launched a campaign - backed by the Gazette - to get more officers on the streets.
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The council wants to see 100 police officers returned to Hackney’s streets, after swinging cuts saw a 22 per cent reduction in numbers, down to just 597 from 770 five years ago.
The Met’s decision to cut the police force in the borough was based on a one-year snapshot including crime figures taken from 2010/11, when the fight against crime was proving successful in Hackney.
