Dozens of new beat officers are being deployed in London in a major shake-up of policing in the capital.
The officers are the first to take up neighbourhood patrol roles as part of Mayor Sadiq Khan’s pledge to put at least two beat cops on local wards.
About 60 officers are being deployed in two new police command areas, where a cluster of boroughs will be managed by a senior officer.
The plan will replace the existing borough-based policing system with about 12 new “super boroughs” commanded by a chief superintendent.
Under the trial, Barking and Dagenham, Redbridge and Havering will form one new command unit and Camden and Islington will merge into a second.
This week Havering council said it was deploying 20 extra neighbourhood officers in the trial. The shake-up means CID and other investigation units will be merged and buildings, technology, vehicles and other resources will also be shared across the boroughs.
Police say the mergers will free up officers who will be re-deployed on the extra neighbourhood patrols.
About 33 officers are being re-deployed as neighbourhood officers in the eastern area and 27 officers are being sent to the north central unit.
However, the move has faced opposition from local campaigners who argue that policing will become less responsive to local concerns.
Steve O’Connell, the Conservative chairman of the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee, said: “I hope there is a positive outcome but I have some concerns that some of these boroughs are not a good fit. We will see how it plays out.”
