Minutes:
Motion on behalf of the Conservative Group
This Council welcomes the recent steps taken by the administration to support the work of the police within Havering through the future introduction of section 92 police officers; and the acquired option to purchase of the Hornchurch Police station; both of which will deter crime across the Borough.
Amendment on behalf of the Residents’ Group
This Council welcomes steps to support the work of the police within Havering including the possible introduction of section 92 police officers and the potential option to purchase Hornchurch Police station. This council looks forward though to being regularly updated with progress reports on both schemes to demonstrate the effectiveness and value for money of these initiatives.
Amendment on behalf of the Independent Residents’ Group
Few doubt the need for more ‘bobbies on the beat’, but Council agrees they should be funded by Government and GLA precept not by council-tax payers, particularly in Havering which is already penalised with poor staffing levels and funding compared to inner-London boroughs.
Locally the Council Leader has announced plans to purchase Hornchurch Police Station for an undisclosed sum and employ 5 Metropolitan police officers for 3 years for over £900,000! Even before contracts are signed he has been advertising these plans in conservative leaflets with headlines saying the council is keeping “Hornchurch Police Station open” and supporting “bobbies on the beat” to protect the public! This sounds worthy, but Council agrees the headlines aren’t entirely honest.
After the Mayor ordered the closure of Hornchurch Police Station and all Safer Neighbourhood Team bases, it does make sense for the council to step in to keep Hornchurch open as a base for police operating in the south of the borough, because of the delays in travel time if operating from Romford. However the conservative leaflets are misleading because it will mostly be operating as a police base rather than a police station open to the public.
Also employing 5 police officers seems worthy too, but will they be “bobbies on the beat” or more likely deployed elsewhere and will they be good value for money once all the extraction days, holidays and illnesses have been factored in. This matters because during a period of cuts priorities matter and Council agrees its odd the Council Leader has suddenly found over £900,000 after the February budget meeting in which he declared there was no money to keep Chafford leisure centre open, despite all the health and social benefits of doing so.
Nevertheless this Council welcomes steps to support the work of the police within Havering including the proposed option to purchase Hornchurch Police Station and introduction of section 92 Police Officers as long as Members are provided with regular updates and progress reports on both schemes to demonstrate the merit, effectiveness and value for money of these initiatives.
The amendment on behalf of the Residents’ Group was NOT AGREED by 33 votes to 11 (see division 11); the amendment on behalf of the Independent residents’ Group was NOT AGREED by 33 votes to 11 (see division 12) and the motion on behalf of the Conservative Group was AGREED by 34 votes to 6 (see division 13).
RESOLVED:
This Council welcomes the recent steps taken by the administration to support the work of the police within Havering through the future introduction of section 92 police officers; and the acquired option to purchase of the Hornchurch Police station; both of which will deter crime across the Borough.