Barnet Council is calling for its fair share of police resources in response to a plan announced by the Metropolitan Police Service, which will aim to merge Barnet, Brent and Harrow’s policing arrangements.
Hendon Town Hall
The Met Police plan intends to combine the three boroughs into a single Basic Command Unit (BCU) from this September, led by the current Barnet Police Borough Commander, Simon Rose. Every borough in London is scheduled to be merged into a BCU in the coming year, following trial mergers last year
Councillor David Longstaff, Chairman of the Safer Communities Partnership Board, said: “Resident feedback has shown us that crime is a top concern and these new arrangements for local policing need to ensure that local people feel safe, and that Barnet gets its fair share of police resources.
“We are particularly concerned that these proposed operational changes will mean that Barnet-based police officers will be deployed to neighbouring boroughs, when there is a spike in crime. This can have an adverse effect in driving crime up due to police officers being assigned elsewhere.
“We must put the safety of our residents first. Urgent clarity and input is therefore required from the Metropolitan Police on a local level about how these plans will be implemented, as well as the level of impact this will have on our residents and communities.”