H&F Police to Merge with with Two Neighbouring Services in February
Radical shake up will create new Basic Command Unit across three boroughs
Hammersmith & Fulham Police have confirmed they will
merge with two neigbouring services in February 2019 to create a new Basic Command Unit, or BCU.
The merger is part of a radical shake up of London's police, announced at the beginning of this year, to scrap borough police services and replace them with BCU's.
The Met say a BCU is a larger police command unit that will replace the current 32 borough model, by merging local policing in boroughs to form 12 BCUs.
Our local BCU, to be called A Central, will consist of police from our borough plus Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster.
Each BCU will be led by a chief superintendent who will be
the BCU Commander. The Met claim that with a BCU, people, buildings and resources will be shared across the borough boundaries meaning greater flexibility in how these are used.
Hammersmith and Fulham Police announced the imment change this week on their Twitter account, MPSHammFul, saying: "It is with pride, and a little sadness, that the last intake to bear the letters FH on their shoulders pass out today. Congratulations to all six officers and remember - The hard work starts now!"
They continue: " From February 2019, Hammersmith & Fulham (FH) Kensington & Chelsea (BS) and Westminster (CW) will merge to become A central BCU unit, with the code AW - PC’s will now have four unique numbers (and the new BCU code AW) on their epaulettes
When the Londonwide shake up was announced, a statement issued by the Met said: "We need to plan for a future with less, and become more resilient so we can continue to meet our financial and operational challenges, and our current and future policing challenges - terrorism and safeguarding in particular. Without significant changes in how we manage our resources we would be unable to meet these head on.
"As well as saving money and increasing efficiency, we want to invest in other areas of policing which the new model will enable us to do more effectively. Increasing community confidence is a priority and these changes will build on the success of Safer Neighbourhoods, where local officers are visible in each London ward.
"We have met our commitment to put two Dedicated Ward Officers (DWOs) and one PCSO in every London ward. These officers work with local people on local priorities and are not taken away to help with policing elsewhere in London."
Leading the work is Deputy Assistant Commissioner Mark Simmons. He said. "Local policing is at the heart of what the Met does every day, and we will improve it further by offering a service that is more personal and responsive to the needs of Londoners.
"BCUs will allow us to put first victims of crime and those people who need us the most. Our new structure will also give us the resilience and consistency we need across the whole of London, so we can continue to respond to large scale incidents and meet the financial and operational challenges we are facing."
The 12 Basic Command Units (BCUs) are:
Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster,
Kingston, Merton, Richmond, Wandsworth
Bromley, Croydon, Sutton
Bexley, Greenwich, Lewisham
Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Redbridge
Ealing, Hillingdon, Hounslow
Lambeth, Southwark
Enfield, Haringey
Hackney, Tower Hamlets
Camden, Islington
Barnet, Brent, Harrow
Newham, Waltham Forest
The move is part of a programme by the Met to make make savings of £325m by 2021/22. Police officer numbers are expected to fall to 30,000 by April, and further by 2021.
These plans have already brought the closure of Fulham Police Station, and only one station in our borough offering 24 hour public access. This is currently Shepherd's Bush Station in Uxbridge Road, while Hammersmith Police Station in Shepherd's Bush Road is being redeveloped.
October 26, 2018