Fall in police numbers blamed on Olympics (From Enfield Independent)

Mayor of London Boris Johnson blames fall in police numbers on Olympics

12:00pm Tuesday 8th January 2013 in News By Hermione Wright

The Mayor of London promises police numbers will rise despite a ten per cent cut in Enfield in the last two years.

The Enfield Independent revealed last week that police numbers in the borough were slashed from 595 in March 2010 to just 534 in April 2012.

Over the same period, the number of police community support officers (PCSOs) patrolling the borough’s streets plummeted by 42 per cent  – from 170 to 99 people.

However, London mayor Boris Johnson claimed police recruitment stalled due to the Olympics and said police numbers are set to rise in their thousands throughout the city.

A statement from Mr Johnson’s office said: "Recruitment was put on hold during the Olympics but unlike many other parts of the country, the Metropolitan Police is now training new officers and numbers will rise again this year.

“The balanced budget we have set out allows us to keep police numbers high at around 32,000 over this term and our reform plans will see even more police officers out on patrol in our neighbourhoods.”

The number of police officers across London dropped from 20,599 in March 2010 to 18,557 in April last year.

Edmonton MP Andy Love told the Enfield Independent last week that cutting front line staff was “completely unacceptable”.