All elected Labour representatives from whole wards across Dagenham & Rainham have united behind Margaret Mullane, Labour’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate, to support her new campaign for a fair policing model that see’s both Dagenham and the south of Havering get the resources needed to keep local people safe.

Sign the petition here: Policing that Dagenham & Rainham Deserves – Dagenham and Rainham Labour Party

Jon Cruddas MP welcomes the campaign and is in full support: “Ever since the Metropolitan Police restructured into ‘Borough Command Units’ (BCU) bobbies on the beat have been spread thin due to government funding cuts. This is as true at Dagenham Heathway as it is at Chadwell Heath, Elm Park and in Rainham Village. Meanwhile Barking has a 21-officer task force. There must be a parity of service across the BCU and this campaign calls for the meaningful investment needed to deliver it.”

Since 2010 the Metropolitan Police have suffered over £1 billion cuts to government funding. The BCU model was introduced as a response to these cuts but has left the Met severely underfunded and overstretched. This has resulted in high levels of violent crime, with burglaries, vehicle theft and anti-social behaviour also increasing across Dagenham & Rainham.

Margaret Mullane explained: “We can’t escape the fact that the Tory government have cut policing budgets to the bone leaving communities like ours vulnerable to criminals. However, I think we need an honest conversation about the level of service our area receives. The Met is spread incredibly thin on the ground but that is in part due to the broken BCU model that leaves swathes of the constituency without a visible police presence. The model needs serious revision, but it cannot be improved without the government funding to back it up.”

The campaign is centred around a petition which calls on the Met Police Commissioner, Home Office, and MOPAC (Mayors Office for Policing and Crime) to deliver the following:

• Parity of service across boroughs in the East Area BCU.
• Increased police visibility at transport hubs in Dagenham & Rainham.
• More accessible places to report crime.
• Fewer abstractions – take officers from areas with a lower crime rate.
• Better lines of communication between local authorities and the police.

Margaret added: “In the UK we have a social contract with the police who police by consent. It is a relationship between communities like ours and those who are there to protect them. Like any relationship it is built on trust. Sadly, the strength of feeling in Dagenham & Rainham is that we get a 2^nd class service, and the public have lost confidence in the MET. I want to help rebuild that confidence and believe the changes called for in our petition will do this.”

In the coming weeks and months Dagenham & Rainham Labour Party will be knocking on doors across the constituency seeking support for the petition. You can also sign online here: Policing that Dagenham & Rainham Deserves – Dagenham and Rainham Labour Party