Wednesday 12 January 2005 6:11 am
Liberal Democrat campaigners have warmly welcomed the new police Safer Neighbourhoods Teams arriving in Islington, but warned that further extension of the scheme may be under threat.

The teams - which include 1 police sergeant, 2 police officers & 3 community support officers - are dedicated to one ward, providing the much-missed bobbies on the beat and deterring crime. Metropolitan Police figures obtained by the 'Evening Standard' suggest that, when the scheme was piloted in Welling, Kent, crime rates fell significantly, with burglaries and robberies declining from 137 and 39 respectively between April and September 2003 to 68 and 24 in the same period in 2004.

Yet despite this success, the prospect of every ward in Islington benefiting may be under threat, thanks to a hole in Ken Livingstone's budget. The Government has so far failed to give their ally Ken Livingstone the extra money needed to fund the scheme in every ward across London, despite it being part of Labour's London manifesto.

Bridget Fox comments, "Islington has already lost post offices and our fire engines are under threat. We must get the police we've been promised. I will be pressing Ken Livingstone, the Metropolitan Police Authority - and the Government who hold the purse strings - to ensure that they deliver their promise of Safer Neighbourhood Teams for all of Islington, not just the first round of wards. Having bobbies on the beat really works & all of Islington deserves no less."