Calls have been made to deploy more police in Enfield following a spike in violence last year.

The Enfield Independent reported last week that on average four violent crimes took place on the streets of Enfield every day in 2014.

Enfield Borough Council has called on the Metropolitan Police for an enhanced police presence on its streets.

The local authority admitted it was concerned that it was not selected for Operation Shield to tackle gang violence while Westminster, Haringey and Lambeth boroughs were.

There was a 21 per cent increase in serious youth violence in Enfield last year.

Cabinet member for environment and community safety, Cllr Chris Bond, said: "Our police are hard-working and dedicated professionals who do a good job in difficult circumstances, but the fundamental problem is that there are not enough of them to go round and this problem is likely to be exaggerated now that additional demands are going to be placed on them because of the need for Britain to take precautions following the terrorist attacks in France and the anti-terrorism arrests in Belgium.

"Enfield Council puts its money where its mouth is every year and funds the Metropolitan Police to the tune of half a million pounds a year, and its investment in state of the art CCTV systems to track down and prosecute offenders, but residents have a reasonable expectation that the borough will receive enough resources to tackle the crimes that concern them the most.

"Our omission from Operation Shield and the increases in serious youth violence this year is a concern to us."

Last year the police rolled out Operation Equinox in a bid to cut crime in the area.

Cllr Bond added: "Historically we are good at tackling gangs and serious youth violence, but it is crucial that Enfield is allocated more police officers to help nip this increase in serious youth violence in the bud before it becomes entrenched and it becomes far more difficult to address the problem.

"The senior officers for Enfield police have been successful in bidding for extra police for a limited period starting this month, but we need something more sustained if we are to build on some local good work to protect young people."

Overall crime in the borough has been reduced, including a drop in burglary of 12.4 per cent. Robbery fell by 17.1 per cent and theft of and from motor vehicles by 30 per cent.