Havering’s night-time crime plan hailed as blueprint for London

Sadiq Khan speaking at an event. Picture: Danny Lawson. (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

Havering Council and the Metropolitan Police teamed up to introduce better communication between clubs in Romford town centre, to tackle anti-social behaviour on nights out.

During the course of the borough’s partnership, crime linked to Romford town’s night-time economy fell by 35 per cent.

Green London Assembly Member, Sian Berry, highlighted this as an excellent example that she believes should be adopted into the mayor’s police and crime plan published last week.

Bars and clubs in Romford and Hornchurch teamed up with licensing officers to communicate with a designated CCTV team by “townlink radio”.

This enables clubs to give advance notice to each other if aggressive revellers, having been barred entry from one club, try to make their way to another.

Police, also notified, can provide extra protection on the streets and bar staff are trained to spot “vulnerabilities”.

The council and the Met won the international Herman Goldstein Award for excellence in problem-orientated policing for their work reducing anti-social behaviour in the night time economy in 2015.

Ms Berry asked Sadiq Khan: “How will Mayor’s Office for Policing And Crime (MOPAC) and the MPS take the lessons learned from Havering’s approach and expand this to suitable areas across London?”

Last year, Amy Lamé was installed as the capital’s first London night czar. The position was a key manifesto promise in Mr Khan’s electoral campaign.

Her role is to ensure that people are safe and the capital thrives at night.

In his response to Ms Berry, Mr Khan said: “This kind of partnership work between local authorities and the MPS is crucial in tackling anti-social behaviour in the night-time economy, as well as violence and other crimes.”

The mayor added that he valued such partnerships and the combined efforts that bring significant challenges to crime and anti-social behaviour.