Tower Hamlets (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Tower Hamlets Council launches an £8m Anti-Crime Task Force, deploying dogs to sweep parks for drugs and weapons in a major crackdown on crime.
Enforcement officers from Tower Hamlets will collaborate with police under the new unit to address drug-related crimes, antisocial behavior, and drug and weapon searches in parks and estates.
What will be the main focus of the task force?
The task force will focus on crimes like bike theft and phone snatching. Additionally, £895,000 will be used to update CCTV cameras and expand the number of council enforcement officers from 54 to 64.
In order to make the initiative the biggest of its kind in London, the borough promised to invest an additional £4 million in it by 2026, on top of the £4 million already committed to its enforcement efforts since 2022.
Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman said:
“At a time when many councils have cut their budgets for tackling crime by millions, we are investing £8 million, more than any other local authority in London, leading the way in showing how councils can invest to make our communities safer.
We’re launching our new Anti Crime Task Force to work closely with police partners to ensure that there is a visible on street presence across the borough, acting as a deterrent to those engaging in crime and antisocial behaviour.”
Citing 415 arrests made by council-funded police officers since April 2022 and 2,357 penalties for disruptive behavior in 2024, council officials stated that the program would further up its efforts to combat crime.
James Conway, the Met Detective Chief Superintendent in charge of Tower Hamlets and Hackney policing, confirmed his approval of the new squad.
“We have seen the notable impact of this joint working over the past year, with Tower Hamlets now experiencing less violence, less robbery, less burglary and more prosecutions in key areas such as domestic violence,” he said.
What strategies will be used by the task force to reduce crime in London?
In order to improve community safety and discourage criminal activity, the task force will increase police visibility in crime areas.
Members of the task force will be trained and given specialized equipment to deal with particular kinds of crime, such as using trained dogs to identify drugs.
Priority will be given to interacting with local communities to foster trust and promote the reporting of questionable activity. This entails collaborating closely with locals to pinpoint issues and create customized solutions.
The task force will use intelligence-led policing to concentrate resources where they are most needed, conducting targeted operations against known offenders and certain crime trends.