Meeting the Police; keeping crime low

Last week I met with the new borough police Commander, Stewart Low. We had a wide ranging conversation over the course of an hour and I was impressed with how quickly he has mastered his local brief.

He talked me through the latest crime figures for Putney, Southfields and Roehampton. They are excellent and a demonstration that the investment in additional uniformed presence on our streets through Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) is really paying dividends.

The work of PCSOs in supporting police officers in Putney is regrettably, sometimes undervalued, especially by those with a negative political agenda. But our constituency now has over thirty of these officers - up to six per council ward, all led by a Police Sergeant and Constable - which we didn't have two years ago and which the Tories and Lib Dems voted against funding.

Indeed, Chief Superintendent Low specifically mentioned the positive impact PCSOs had had locally in reducing and tackling crime.