CROYDON: New officers to tackle crime in Croydon's neighbourhoods

New officers to tackle crime in Croydon's neighbourhoods

Croydon council is to deploy its first Neighbourhood Enforcement Officers on Monday October 1 as part of a £1.3m investment to help tackle crime and antisocial behaviour in the borough.

Six NEOs are bound for the town centre to work alongside the Police Town Centre Team to provide additional uniformed assurance to businesses, visitors and residents.

A further four will work with the police in New Addington, Fieldway, Waddon and Fairfield wards, as part of fully-integrated Safer Neighbourhood Teams.

The initial roll-out of ten officers in October will shortly be followed by a further nine, deployed six months later in April 2008, and a final ten will be in place by April 2009, until there is at least one NEO in every ward.

The first four wards to get NEOs were prioritised on the basis of levels of antisocial behaviour 999 calls to the police and on the levels of reported criminal damage in the areas.

Additionally, the council has provided £180,000 funding for a Safer Croydon support team, comprising a sergeant, four police constables and four PCSOs.

The role of the new team, which is also being launched at the beginning of October, will be to provide extra support to all 25 Safer Neighbourhood Teams in the borough.

Deputy Leader, Cllr Steve O’Connell, cabinet member for safety and cohesion, announced the NEO deployment and the new Safer Croydon support team at Cabinet on Monday.

Cllr O’Connell said: “I’m delighted to announce that NEOs will soon be deployed in every ward. I’m determined to crack down on crime in Croydon and our Neighbourhood Enforcement Officers will have the powers to hound out the criminals as well as reassure the public.

"Crime has already fallen by 10% during our first year in office and with this £1.3m investment we’ve stepped up to the mark once again to deliver on our promise to create a safer Croydon.”

http://www.24dash.com/localgovernment/27651.htm