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Home Secretary Alan Johnson today attacked Boris Johnson over the future of local frontline policing in London.
The Labour minister said safer neighbourhood teams covering each ward were at risk under the Mayor who wanted to deploy them at borough level instead.
The Mayor's support for the teams in their present form - one sergeant, two constables and three police community support officers covering each ward - has only been lukewarm.
Mr Johnson said: "The Mayor has made quite clear his determination to reduce the police numbers by 455. In neighbourhood policing many people have a resource they can reach out and touch. Our prediction is that we'll see some of those teams pushed up to borough level which means diluting the neighbourhood policing we've become used to. Ensuring that every ward in London has a basic minimum level is really important."
Reader views (3)
Typical of New Labour to create a situation where power is devolved in a cack-handed way to local authorities, and then blame those authorities when they are starved of funds and power to do the job properly.
- Nobby Clark, Perth, the Scottish one, 13/04/2010 16:29
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This is a government who have immediately halved the sentences for murderers, rapists, paedophiles, etc. Allowed the very worse of scum to walk our streets to carry on offending time and time again.
Labour and Law and Order do not exactly go together. We have seen a huge rise in the most violent of crimes under their tenure.
But the blatant hypocrisy of this corrupt government never surprises me.
- Frank, Home Counties, England., 13/04/2010 14:29
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All this Labour administration do is attack anyone who is not in their party obeying the whips.
- Tojo, Hythe Kent, 13/04/2010 13:36
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