Community Notice: Local Policing-Covid 19 Briefing Note

Dear residents, partners and community members, we received an update on COVID 19 from BCU Commander Colin Wingrove, which we publish below.

Neighbourhood policing and proactive work in your community is continuing as normal with the exception of postponing non-essential public meetings. Your locals teams are out on patrol dealing with anti-social behavior and criminality in their wards. 

If you have any concerns, please contact your local team. If a crime needs reporting or you need police to deal with an issue then and there, please call 101 or report online at www.met.police.uk. In an emergency always call 999.

Your continued support is greatly appreciated in this challenging time.

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Dear all,

We recognise that COVID-19 (Coronavirus) is of great concern to everyone throughout the country at the moment, but I just wanted to reassure you that the Met is, and will continue to, work around the clock to keep our communities safe and deliver a critical service of business under the current circumstances.

Although we are continuing to monitor the current situation, we are running a business as usual model responding to operational need and demand and are being as flexible as possible to achieve this.

Where possible we are also following the Public Health England advice and we are currently reviewing our position about not be sending police representatives to meetings or panels in order to avoid gatherings where there may be an increase in the spread of the virus. We ask that you continue to contact us via email or phone. I would also advise keeping an eye on the local Twitter channels and @MetpoliceUK.

We do think it is vital to maintain channels of communication between the police and community. We would be particularly keen to hear if you or your residents have any direct concerns about community tensions. Your Neighbourhood team can be contacted in the normal means (via telephone, email, or via the met website: https://www.met.police.uk/, ‘what’s happening in my area’, type in your postcode, and then scroll down to ‘contact my team). Alternatively you can call 101 or, in an emergency, 999 and you can also report crime and anti-social behaviour online via the website.

You may have seen the latest statement by Commissioner Cressida Dick in the Evening Standard on Tuesday (also available here: http://news.met.police.uk/news/commissioner-speaks-about-coronavirus-397359) that discusses how our brave officers will continue to deliver the top tier service many of us are used to and expect.

I have no doubt that the coming weeks and months will provide many challenges for all of us, however it is more important than ever that we continue to work closely with each other and support each other during this period.

Please do contact my staff office or me if you have any questions or wish to discuss any further aspect of this incident with me.

Regards

Colin Wingrove, Chief Superintendent, BCU Commander – Central South

AS – Central South / COVID19 – 1 – 18/03/2020