Met Police service to grow to more than 32,000 officers by the summer

The Metropolitan Police Service is intensifying its efforts to tackle violence on London’s streets. Violent crime remains the Met’s top priority and officers are working flat out to target the most harmful individuals and hotspot areas. The Met is realigning its resources and using more data driven deployments to tackle violence in all its forms. The frontline response is being strengthened by allocating one hundred experienced officers, reassigned from across the Met, to work alongside borough officers in order to use their existing local knowledge and expertise. Their work will focus on activity to counter violence through pro-active patrols and operations as well as accelerating and improving the effectiveness of investigations. In addition, the Violent Crime Taskforce has merged with officers from the highly successful Operation Venice, which achieved a 38% reduction in moped enabled crime in 2019, (5042 fewer offences than the 13,193 total offences in 2018), to assist in driving down robbery and knife crime Other moves include the creation of two additional homicide teams, made up of 50 detectives reassigned last year. The Met is going after the most dangerous and harmful individuals wanted for violence related offences. Suspects are being arrested daily. The Met is not complacent and will continue to exploit every tactic and power available. This includes intelligence-led stop and search. The financial year ending March 2019 saw stop and search remove more than 4,000 weapons from the streets. Section 60 will continue to be used as a safeguarding tactic following serious acts of violence to help prevent retaliatory incidents, or prevent potential outbreaks of further violence and reassure communities. The Met acknowledges that drugs are inextricably linked to a high proportion of the violence in London, as well as the exploitation of young people. In 2019, officers arrested more than 750 people associated with county lines. In addition, the service will grow stronger in 2020 as officer numbers increase. By late summer the aim is to have more than 32,000 officers. The Met will continue to work with our partners, including London’s Violence Reduction Unit, to tackle crime and its causes and strengthen relationships with our communities. To be successful, we must tackle violence together. Assistant Commissioner Mark Simmons said: “Every single officer in the Metropolitan Police Service knows that tackling violence is their first priority. The public will see increased police activity as part our 2020 push to drive down violence in all its forms. We know this is what matters most to Londoners. “It is the responsibility of all our officers and staff to identify, target, and pursue those involved in violence and safeguard the public. “We are using intelligence and data in a more sophisticated manner to ensure we have the right people in the right places. “But we cannot do this alone. The causes of violence are complex. We are working with others to help young people avoid gangs and violence. Information from the community can help to not only detect, but prevent crime and save lives. “Please help us to keep London safe. Together we can, and will, tackle violence.”