The move will see four police constables and one police sergeant based at the council’s Civic Centre office in Brixton.
Another 6 police constables will be based with the South Bank Business Improvement District and the Vauxhall Business Improvement District. The decision, which will apply until 2022, was made by Lambeth council’s Cabinet meeting on Monday (July22) evening.
‘Keeping people safe’
Cllr Mo Seedat
Cllr Mohammed Seedat, Cabinet member for Jobs, Skills and Community Safety, said: “Deep cuts to public services have seen a big fall in police numbers on our borough. However this council, and local businesses, remain determined to do all we can to tackle harm in our communities.
“For that reason we have worked hard to put this scheme together. The police officers we have agreed to pay for will focus on local issues, including anti-social behaviour, drug dealing, keeping people safe when out at night and stopping kerb crawling.”
Funding
The scheme is expected to cost £1,700,000 over three years, including a £750,000 bill for the council. South Bank BID and the Vauxhall BID will contribute around £950,000. The new roles are being advertised with a view to have the officers in post by October 1 this year.
The Met used to pay for one extra police officer for every officer’s salary paid locally. But budget pressures mean the scheme has been scrapped, and as a result the cost to the boroughs of directly employing two officers has gone up by £45,000.
The commitment made on Monday evening supports goals from Lambeth’s Borough Plan which include making town centres feel safe and welcoming, as well as reducing anti-social behaviour. The goals are contained in the Lambeth’s Borough Plan Review which was adopted by the council at the same meeting.
For more information visit moderngov.lambeth.gov.uk.
