Council hails success of police officers it funds to tackle anti-social behaviour

A team of 44 Metropolitan Police officers funded by a London council to tackle anti-social behaviour have closed 18 crack houses and 43 brothels in the last 12 months.

The enforcement team of 44 police officers is funded by Newham Council through a scheme that provides police resources on a cost sharing and matched funding basis.

The officers made 1,230 arrests over the year and worked alongside the local authority’s officers on 357 operations covering issues such as gangs, street sex workers, alcohol related incidents, irresponsible dog ownership and fly-tipping.

The 12-month period also saw:

  • The issue of 347 fixed penalty notices (FPN) and 210 penalty notices for disorder (PND);
  • The obtaining of 11 injunctions against gangs;
  • The seizure of 30 dangerous dogs;
  • The issue of 94 cautions to prostitutes; and
  • The seizure of 135 vehicles under Operation Reclaim, the Met Police’s campaign against uninsured drivers.

Cllr Unmesh Desai, executive member for crime and anti-social behaviour at Newham, said: “Some excellent work is being done between the council and police and other community partners to target crime and disorder and address local concerns about anti-social behaviour.”

Inspector Phil Stinger, who heads the partnership team, said: “Our work with the council not only helps to prevent and reduce crime and anti-social behaviour; it also helps to build further confidence in the police.”