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Boris: How I'll get knives off the streets
Pippa Crerar, Political Correspondent13 Feb 2008
Boris Johnson has put crime at the heart of his mayoral campaign, pledging to drive out serious offenders by tackling petty lawbreaking.
The Conservative candidate said that cracking down on fare-dodging, antisocial behaviour and vandalism would make the streets of London safer.
He said he would employ 50 extra transport police to boost the uniformed presence at the worst-affected suburban stations, and 440 more police community support officers to patrol buses and Tube trains.
The officers would be in addition to 1,000 more promised by Ken Livingstone-Mr Johnson said he planned to pay for them by cutting the Mayor's media and marketing budget.
The measures are in his 36-page crime manifesto, unveiled today at Westminster alongside shadow home secretary David Davis. It also proposes more rape crisis centres, giving ticket inspectors greater powers, and giving the public access to crime mapping for neighbourhoods. Mr Johnson said: "I believe that by systematically tackling small crimes we can drive out more serious crime. I believe that we can change the lives of kids who would otherwise be sucked into a nightmarish culture of violence and criminality.
"We have a crime problem, and the next Mayor needs to face up to that fact instead of hiding behind political statistics and hiring ever more press officers." His approach draws on the anti-crime strategy of Rudy Giuliani when he was mayor of New York, which was widely regarded as a success. Mr Johnson backed US-style "Safe and Clean" teams in which businesses, and in some cases residents, pay a levy to make sure the streets are clean and graffiti, fly-posters and broken glass from car crime are removed.
Public access to electronic crime maps, showing trends and hotspots for each neighbourhood, have helped New Yorkers hold their police to account.
Mr Johnson said: "I want London to maintain its position as the world's number one financial centre. I want us to encourage the brightest and the best to come here. I want pensioners to feel safe to venture from their homes. I want people to believe it is worth reporting crime. I want the knives and guns off our streets.
"I reject the assumption that we can do nothing. The Mayor has a statutory and moral duty to lead the fightback against crime. Londoners want to feel safer on our streets and if elected, I will use all my energy to ensure they get the security they deserve."
The Tory candidate set out how he would pay for some of his proposals.
The 50 extra British Transport Police officers would be paid for by cutting staff in the Metropolitan Police Authority press office from 73 to 50 and halving its £3.1 million publicity budget.
Doubling the number of PCSOs on the transport network to over 800 would be funded with £16.5 million redirected from Transport for London's advertising, marketing and communications budget, which is £66 million this year.
Mr Johnson also promised £744,000 a year to guarantee the future of London's only rape crisis centre and to set up three new ones, paid for by reducing the Mayor's £3.6 million media and marketing team budget by 20 per cent.
Metropolitan police statistics show rape and sex assaults have increased in the last decade, but in that time two rape crisis centres have closed.
The manifesto also includes promises to chair the MPA, reduce red tape to get more police on the streets, and make it easier for officers to stop and search.
Mr Johnson has promised to ringfence London Development Agency funds for community groups, and set up a trial of live CCTV on buses.
JOHNSON'S PLANS
• Provide leadership by chairing the Metropolitan Police Authority.
• Tear up red tape and needless form-filling to get more police on the streets.
• Spend less money on press officers to pay for 50 extra police and 440 more PCSOs on buses, trains and station platforms.
• Help under-18s who abuse their right to free travel to earn it back through community work.
• Fund community groups, sport schemes and handheld weapon scanners to tackle knife and gun crime.
• Guarantee long-term funding for new rape crisis centres.
• Give communities New-York style crime maps which show levels of offending in every borough
• Get police borough commander to hold monthly public meetings
Reader views (6)
It definitely worked in New York. Something has to be done and Ken certainly has shown he's only able to preside over a continued decline of our beloved city.
- R M, London, UK, 13/02/2008 16:07
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It definitely worked in New York. Something has to be done and Ken certainly has shown he's only able to preside over a continued decline of our beloved city.
- R M, London, UK, 13/02/2008 16:07
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It definitely worked in New York. Something has to be done and Ken certainly has shown he's only able to preside over a continued decline of our beloved city.
- R M, London, UK, 13/02/2008 16:07
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I think they might mean the number of press officers who work across the Met, including the MPA... didn't know the Met already did crime maps... maybe they (the Met/Mayor) should let people know about them. Can we have real coppers though instead of plastic ones?
- Steve, London, 13/02/2008 15:25
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The manifesto says MPS (Metropolitan POlice Service) not MPA. The MPS has 73 press officers.
Paddick has already opposed the level of crime mapping that Boris proposed. Clearly he sees a difference.
- Bob Perkins, London, 13/02/2008 14:58
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Boris says he would cut the Metropolitan Police Authority press office from 73 to 50.
I think he will find the Police Authority only has 2 or 3 people in their press office.
So Boris will "give communities New-York style crime maps which show levels of offending in every borough". Will they be the same as the ones already available to them on the MPS site?
- Vincent, Kent, 13/02/2008 12:54
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