Nov/Dec 2021
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20<br />
South Woodford Village Gazette<br />
Hotel Uniform Bravo!<br />
With Woodford Police Station having been decommissioned and sold<br />
earlier this year, Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP explains why his successful<br />
campaign for a policing hub in the local area was vital<br />
Having listened to residents and police<br />
officers alike, it is clear there was a<br />
need for a policing hub in Woodford,<br />
South Woodford or Woodford Green.<br />
Following the Mayor of London’s wrongheaded<br />
decision to close Woodford Police<br />
Station, local Safer Neighbourhood Teams for<br />
Monkhams, Churchfields and South Woodford<br />
lost the police station they used as a base.<br />
This means they have to travel to Barkingside<br />
Police Station to use its facilities, often on<br />
public transport.<br />
This seems to be an extremely poor use of<br />
police time and resources. Reducing the<br />
travel time for the Safer Neighbourhoods<br />
Teams would free up more resource hours to<br />
tackle local crime. This extra police time will<br />
be necessary to tackle the recent spate of<br />
dog thefts and the thefts of cars and catalytic<br />
convertors that are issues of real concern to<br />
my constituents.<br />
The need to travel long distances also impacts<br />
the well-being and job satisfaction of officers,<br />
who feel they spend more time travelling to<br />
and from their wards than doing their job.<br />
Residents, local officers and business owners<br />
have spoken to me about the importance of<br />
having designated police who understand<br />
the neighbourhood, know the local<br />
crime hotspots and build trust within the<br />
communities they serve. The whole area will<br />
benefit from a visible police base, which will<br />
provide reassurance to residents and assist in<br />
building relationships with the community.<br />
Myself and local councillors are therefore<br />
pleased that, as a result of our continuous<br />
campaign, there has now been recognition of<br />
the need for a police hub here, with the recent<br />
Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP<br />
outside the former Woodford<br />
Green Police station<br />
announcement of a soon-to-be-opened<br />
venue in Woodford, which will serve the<br />
wards of South Woodford, Churchfields, and<br />
Monkhams.<br />
We held a public meeting with the Borough<br />
Commander, Detective Chief Superintendent<br />
Stephen Clayman, where residents discussed<br />
the need for a stronger police presence in the<br />
area. This was in addition to letters to both<br />
the Detective Chief Superintendent and the<br />
Commissioner, Dame Cressida Dick, and our<br />
petition, which has been signed by almost<br />
2,000 local residents.<br />
I await further details from the Metropolitan<br />
Police on where the hub will be based and<br />
look forward to an official announcement<br />
from Redbridge Council regarding when it will<br />
be operational. I will continue to work with the<br />
council and the police to ensure the residents<br />
of Woodford have the resources that are<br />
needed here. The simple yet vital truth is that<br />
local people need to know the police officers<br />
who work in their neighbourhoods and feel<br />
reassured by a visible presence.<br />
For more information on Sir Iain Duncan<br />
Smith’s campaign, visit swvg.co.uk/ids<br />
To advertise, call 020 8819 0595 or visit swvg.co.uk