RIOTS: Abdul Hai says govt' must reverse police cuts - Council’s crime czar warns: 'Think again on numbers'

Labour councillor Abdul Hai, cabinet member for community safety, said it would be a bold move in the current climate – but insisted a U-turn is necessary to restore public safety.
 

Speaking to the New Journal after a night spent witnessing violence first-hand in Camden, he said: “We need more resources. For the government to be talking about reducing police numbers at this time, it just isn’t the message we need. 
 

“It’s hard to describe the kind of violence I was seeing, people smashing up property with a complete disregard for the law. Hopefully, this disorder will reassert the message that policing needs to be a key priority for the nation, not just for Camden.”
 

Under the cuts, Camden is set to lose four Safer Neighbourhoods sergeants. Eight wards – including Camden Town and Kentish Town – will share their sergeant with another area.
 

Haverstock Lib Dem councillor Matt Sanders backed the importance of neighbourhood policing in gaining “intelligence” from the community. “It’s the kind of information that came up through the community that played an important role on Monday night,” he said.

“There is a massive difference in people’s eyes between the Metropolitan police and the local teams. It’s having that go-between that makes the police much more approachable for communities. There is evidence that relationship could be watered down by the changes.”
 

But acting borough commander Superintendent Roger Smalley insisted the violence on Monday was “not a community relations issue”. “This is wanton criminality and vandalism that should not be tolerated by this or any other community,” he said.
 

Roy Walker, chair of Camden Community and Police Consultative Group, said events in Camden had “nothing to do with any fictitious underlying tensions”. He added: “A tiny minority have exploited events in other parts of London for their own benefit.”