More Dedicated Ward Officers

We have received this latest information about the Met’s  plans to increase the number of Dedicated Ward Officers across London as it will be rolled out acrossTower Hamlets.

 

Increasing dedicated officers

As you will know, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and the Commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe have agreed to introduce a second Dedicated Ward Officer (DWO) in every London ward by the end of 2017.

 

This is an increase of over 500 officers who are dedicated to wards across London and ring-fenced, with a sole focus on responding to the issues that matter to that local community. These officers will come from existing officer strength on the Borough.

 

The first 260 officers will be moved into the role by the end of this year with the remainder in place by the end of 2017. Locally we will increase DWO numbers by phasing in an extra 10 officers on Tower Hamlets borough.

 

Which wards are getting more officers

The wards that are being enhanced in the first phase (by the end of 2016) with permanent dedicated Ward officer positions are:

• Weavers
• Bow West
• Shadwell
• Stepney Green
• Bromley North
• Bromley South
• Canary Wharf
• Blackwall and Cubitt Town
• St Dunstans
• Island Gardens

 

The following wards already have two dedicated ward officer positions:

 

• St Peters
• Bethnal Green
• Spitalfields and Banglatown
• Whitechapel
• Lansbury
• Bow East
• Mile End

 

During 2017 we intend to increase to two (from one each) the number of Dedicated Ward Officer positions of the remaining three wards:

 

• Limehouse
• St Katherine’s and Wapping
• Poplar

 

Dedicated Ward Officers are key to driving the confidence of Londoners. As ring-fenced resources, they will be more visible to our communities; patrolling locally and building relationships with the public, partners and businesses. They are a valuable resource to the communities they serve and assist in bringing together agencies to effectively work together to solve local issues. We are confident that this change will improve out policing in communities. The following wards already have two Dedicated Ward officer posts:

 

Our long term vision

These changes will be supported by investment in other key areas of policing. This includes improving how the public access our services, with the re-design of our website, commitment to monitor social media and providing our staff with tablet computers and body-worn cameras to drive efficiencies in the way we work.

 

We are working closely with the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) to shape these future plans.

 

We need your support

 

It is our aim to engage with you throughout this process and work together to implement these important changes. You will begin to see changes in the near future as we begin our local selection processes in September 2016. This is with a view to posting officers in October.

 

If you have any questions during this process your local point of contact is Chief Inspector Martin Kirby. We value your input and welcome any feedback you may have regarding these changes.

 

Thank you for your ongoing support and we will continue to keep you updated.