In her first media interview as the borough’s neighbourhood policing lead, Superintendent Lora John also said local priorities for policing include youth violence, drugs and theft, reports Josh Mellor, Local Democracy Reporter
Waltham Forest’s neighbourhood policing boss says she wants to “communicate better” with residents.
Superintendent Lora John has been leading the borough’s neighbourhood policing team since March and spoke to the Local Democracy Service in her first media interview.
Speaking before Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley held a public meeting, Supt John said she now wants to find out what matters to residents.
She added: “We want to communicate to residents better, to reach everybody as best as we can.
“Previously we would look more towards a bigger model, but this is about hyper-local policing, about listening to views from all communities in Waltham Forest to understand what matters to them.
“Not only what makes them safe, but what makes them feel safe, because they’re two different things.”
Supt John, who has committed to staying in the borough for the next two years, said the Met’s existing Safer Neighbourhood Panels, which allow residents to share their views with local officers, tend to hear views from “the same people”.
She added that as part of the Met’s new “listening and responding” approach her team wants to be more creative to cast its net further in the community.
Initiatives the police have set up or plan to do include “cuppa with a copper”, pop-up police stations and standing outside nurseries and train stations to speak to residents.
Supt John said local priorities for policing include youth violence, drugs and theft of property like motor vehicles.
Each council ward in the borough should also have two dedicated police officers who are substantive rather than trainees.
However, although she did not signal a change to the Met’s use of the controversial stop and search tactic, which disproportionately affects younger black men, she said her officers should take a “quality approach”.
She said: “Youth homicide affects communities disproportionately, knife crime affects communities disproportionately, there are two sides to this.
The other side is about procedural justice if you stop someone and have suspicion that they’re carrying something it’s about taking a quality approach and making sure they’re treated with respect, making sure they have a voice.
“It needs to be a conversation – that for me is the two-fold bit.”
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