POLICING in the borough is set for a complete restructure as the Mayor of London introduces the Local Policing Model (LPM).
All nine SNTs in the north of the borough will now be based at Ruislip police station in The Oaks, meaning officers will have to cycle, use public transport or get dropped off by a police force mini bus in order to patrol their wards, some four miles away.
Rob Wilson, chief inspector of partnerships at Hillingdon police, said: “The Met currently spends thousands of pounds on small SNT offices which they would prefer to spend on officers. But as well as saving money, we want to improve services.”
Every ward in the borough will now have at least one PC and one Police Community Support Officer (PCSO), supported by a team of officers who can move to the areas that need them most.
CID and response team staff will be transferred from their office roles to increase neighbourhood officer numbers.
“I do think it will be better policing,” said Mr Wilson.
“We’ve seen good crime reduction in every crime type in Hillingdon, and I think the LPM will increase that further.
“We seem to have lost the community engagement in the north of the borough and we aim to bring it back.
“We want the SNTs to become the focal point of local policing. It’s all achievable.”
Under the moves, Harefield police office, the Northwood police front desk and all the Safer Neighbourhoods Teams (SNTs) offices will close, as part of Boris Johnson’s plans to save £520million over the next three years by reducing the number of buildings in the Met’s estate.
When the changes are introduced in mid-June, the SNTs will operate for more hours, from 8am-midnight Sunday to Wednesday, and until 2am on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
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