In east London, the borough of Tower Hamlets has hailed the launch of its Anti Crime Task Force, as a community safety model whereby Tower Hamlets Enforcement Officers (THEOs) work with police. THEOs patrol the streets, tackling crime such as drug dealing, and anti-social behaviour (ASB), and providing community reassurance, the council says.
THEOs number 54; the council is recruiting a further ten. They issue Fixed Penalty Notices for example for ASB. The council which stretches from Spitalfields, Whitechapel and Bow to Canary Wharf, has a new dog patrol service, which can join the THEOs to conduct weapons and drugs sweeps in parks, open spaces, and estates.
Drugs
On drugs, a report to the council’s cabinet meeting of January 29 noted that ‘drugs are driving crime more widely in the borough’, such as theft (by addicts to pay for drugs). Visible drug dealing and drug use is regularly raised as one of the biggest causes for concern for residents, the report stated; and hence a proposed drugs unit of seven, including three THEOs; to patrol and gather intelligence, without powers of arrest. The council says that three of its services have been streamlined to focus on crime and the reduction of ASB: the noise protection team, environmental crime enforcement team; and council-funded police officers.
Noise
An out of hours statutory noise service will be in operation in-house from the summer; previously the service was by a contractor, Parkguard. While THEOs can attend noise cases out of hours, a means to receive and triage and task officers is missing, according to the report to the council’s cabinet.
CCTV
On the video surveillance side, the council points to £895,000 to upgrade its CCTV control room, with a LED video wall display unit capable of monitoring 42 cameras at once. Control room operators monitor 24-7 some 1040 cameras which cover streets and the wider public realm, such as parks and green spaces. The report to cabinet said that a capital bid for funds to deliver ‘an upgraded and expanded network’ of cameras on council estates has been submitted and is proceeding through the council’s processes, as part of a phase two of CCTV service expansion; which comes under community safety. Some £3.764m has been allocated for phase two, the report stated. That includes 30 new cameras outside leisure centres, and replacing five cameras outside the town hall; and expanding fibre
optic cable transmission to connect with Transport for London (TfL). Work is due to take until March 2026.
The report stated that the service has an ‘ambitious commercialisation programme’ under which it intends to sell alarm monitoring and key handling services to social landlords and others. The report noted ‘no resource in the council to undertake the work associated with setting up and delivering commercial services in Patrolling, CCTV, Anti-Social Behaviour Case Management and Environmental Crime’; hence it’s looking to hire a commercial manager.
What they say
Lutfur Rahman, Executive Mayor of Tower Hamlets, said: “At a time when many councils have cut their budgets for tackling crime by millions, we are investing £8m, more than any other local authority in London, leading the way in showing how councils can invest to make our communities safer.
“We’re launching our new Anti Crime Task Force to work closely with police partners to ensure that there is a visible on street presence across the borough, acting as a deterrent to those engaging in crime and anti-social behaviour. Ensuring Tower Hamlets is a safer place for everyone is a top priority for me and my Cabinet, and we are providing the resources to bring about that change.”
The Central East (Tower Hamlets & Hackney) borough commander for the Met Police, Det Chief Supt James Conway, said: “The Met has been clear that our focus is on community crime fighting and putting our communities first. Policing provides a critical service, but effectively tackling the problems which matter most to our communities is only achieved by working in a close collaboration with our partners. We and the council have our own unique sets of powers and responsibilities. It is by bringing these together, alongside our other partners and communities, that we will achieve sustained impact against crime and anti-social behaviour.
“We have seen the notable impact of this joint working over the past year, with Tower Hamlets now experiencing less violence, less robbery, less burglary and more prosecutions in key areas such as domestic violence. At the same time I know that too many people still feel unsafe and, for me, every crime is a crime too many. By investing in a partnership that works I know we can go further, delivering a safer borough for all those who live, work and visit Tower Hamlets.”
Background
Tower Hamlets is run by the Aspire political party, set up by Lutfur Rahman, formerly of Labour. Aspire took control of the borough in 2022 from Labour. Visit https://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/. For the borough’s knife amnesty bins, visit this link.
Other councils in London can point to similar work on community safety; Hammersmith and Fulham to the west for example has a uniformed Law Enforcement Team (LET), and about 2000 CCTV cameras; a control room in Hammersmith also monitors about 100 cameras for Westminster City Council.
Photo by Mark Rowe; street art, east London.
