Tower Hamlets residents invited to new Community Safety Surgeries

Residents can voice concerns they have about crime and anti -social behaviour directly to the council and police thanks to a new Community Safety Surgeries initiative which will visit all wards in the borough.
The surgeries are being led by Cllr Ohid Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Community Safety, in conjunction with the police. Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman, will attend the inaugural surgery, taking place in Whitechapel’s Altab Ali Park on Friday 12th September 2014. The mobile police station will be visiting other areas for Community Safety surgeries every two weeks thereafter.
Cllr Ahmed is leading this new round of community safety surgeries with the council Safer Communities and Police Neighbourhood Policing Teams.
The Community Safety Surgeries will be visiting all 20 wards over the coming months. The surgeries are just one way in which the council continues to work hard to ensure everyone living, working and visiting Tower Hamlets feels safe from crime.
Each surgery will be followed by a walkabout in the ward, where Cllr Ahmed will be joined by Borough Commander Chief Superintendent Dave Stringer, council Head of Safer Communities Andy Bamber, police officers, Tower Hamlets Enforcement Officers (THEOs) and youth and drug outreach workers.
They will listen to all crime and anti-social behaviour issues raised by residents and local police and discuss the work the council and police are doing to address them as well as additional actions that they can take.
Mayor Rahman said: “It is important for residents to feel safe and comfortable in their community, and having a friendly face to turn to when you have concerns can really help that. These events give residents the opportunity to discuss their local area with senior officers and are an important way of helping us to understand the concerns negatively impacting communities.”
Cllr Ahmed added: “The police walkabouts last year have been a hugely successful way of engaging with the public. We are very excited about adding the surgery element to this year’s walkabouts, and invite all residents to visit us in the new police contact van when it comes to their area.
“Policing and anti-social behaviour concerns from the public in Tower Hamlets are of absolute importance to us, and this is a great way of giving residents the platform to speak to us, and the Metropolitan Police, directly.”
Any actions taken away from the surgeries will be added to a ward action plan.