Extra police officers for HF

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The council's £1million investment in extra local police will translate into a network of Safer Neighbourhoods officers that covers every street in the borough.

The 25 extra officers the council's £1million cash boost will pay for will become:

* Three additional Safer Neighbourhoods officers (two PCs and one PCSO) for each of the borough's three town centres;
* Two full additional Safer Neighbourhoods Teams - one each for Ravenscourt Park and Addison wards; and
* A dedicated officer who will act as a community contact for each of the remaining four wards that are not currently fully covered by the scheme.

The strategic deployment of the extra officers will boost existing teams in town centres, where problems tend to be concentrated, as well as ensuring that wards that do not currently have a full Safer Neighbourhoods team are still covered by the scheme, with a dedicated officer who will function as a link between the local community and the police.

The council has its demonstrated commitment to creating safer communities to thank for the opportunity to invest in extending the scheme in the borough, along with the excellent and productive relationship it has forged with the Metropolitan police through years of partnership work.

The Safer Neighbourhoods scheme has already had a significant impact in Hammersmith & Fulham - in areas where teams are established, the police have reported better community relations and crime is down significantly. There are currently nine teams in place covering ten of the borough's 16 wards.

Council Leader Andrew Slaughter said: "Residents have told us that making the borough safer should be one of our main priorities, and the best way to do that is to put more officers on the streets. So when we were singled out for the opportunity to invest in more local police we came up with the cash.

"With the unique level of coverage the extra investment will create, we have ensured that no matter where people live in the borough they will benefit from the Safer Neighbourhoods scheme."

April 3, 2005