Letter to the Neighbourhood Watch from Met Police Borough Commander Chris Hafford:
Dear Co-ordinator,
I’m writing to you as one of our key stakeholders and partners. You will be aware there has been reporting within the media of an increase in racially motivated incidents and crime since the EU Referendum last week. Whilst we haven’t seen an increase in Bromley, we are monitoring this very closely and will continue to do so. We are reviewing our intelligence and allegations of crime to ascertain whether they are linked to the Referendum. There are some clear messages that we are seeking to communicate to the community and I would be grateful if you could circulate them to your contacts.
· We are aware that significant events at home or abroad can increase intolerance, hate or extremism.
· We have come together as part of the national “#westandtogether” campaign and have shown that all communities stand united against all hate and intolerance.
· Hate crime and extremism is usually perpetrated by a small minority of people who try to divide communities but this has no effect where strong community cohesion exists.
· Dedicated Ward Officers are familiar and well- known figures in local neighbourhoods. They provide reassurance and support and work hard to develop strong relationships with local communities. Please contact your local officers who will be pleased to hear from you and provide any help that they can.
· Our community engagement plans will ensure we work closely with local communities to understand how they are feeling; focus our resources at times and in locations where our communities need us the most and use all MPS resources to provide a visible policing presence across London.
· Hate crime is not acceptable and will not be tolerated. Please report all incidents of hate crime, no matter how small, as soon as possible. We have 900 specialist detectives whose role it is to catch offenders and bring them to justice. Please report all hate crime to 999 in an emergency, to 101 in a non-emergency or directly to an officer or at a police station.
· If you have any concerns, no matter how small, please contact your local neighbourhood teams. If you have information to offer please telephone 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111
Commander Mak Chishty is leading the MPS response with all 32 Boroughs supporting him. He recently set out the following for the Borough Commanders:
“The EU Referendum may have divided public opinion but one thing that I am certain we can all agree upon is our great liberal values, including the principles of democracy and tolerance. The very large majority of us are proud of our nation’s diversity and the value that difference can bring. This is obvious in our “#westandtogether” campaigns, when communities of all backgrounds and from every neighbourhood stand together in unity against hatred and extremism. We are also highly aware that some critical events, whether at home or abroad, can incite incidents of intolerance and/or hate that we will not tolerate. We are also mindful that when this happens communities can feel insecure and unsafe.
The MPS has responded quickly by putting in place a comprehensive policing plan across each Borough that will enable us to communicate directly with communities to reassure them; to engage at a personal level in local communities, building further trust and confidence; to have local policing plans that provide highly visible policing at times and in locations which meet the needs of our communities; and to monitor community sentiment through a rolling community impact assessment.
There have been some isolated incidents of hate crimes and I am proud of the way in which communities have come together and shown unity. Any act of hate crime is not acceptable and will not be tolerated. We would appeal to anyone who witnesses or suffers any hate crime to come forward and report it immediately.”
Many thanks for your continued support.
Chris Hafford
Borough Commander
Met Police