Now is the time to support our police service

Your local Labour councillors want to pay tribute to the bravery and hard work of our police officers this week, who have faced unprecendented disorder and violence in our city. Thankfully, our immediate area escaped the worst of the trouble, but the scarred shopfronts of Walworth Road, Brixton, Clapham Junction and Lower Marsh are grim reminders of the damage the disorder has done to our city.

We were opposed to Boris Johnson's cuts to the police before this week, but after the events of Sunday and Monday nights we think the situation has changed completely. There can't be any justification for cutting back on the police officers who we relied upon on this week.

Currently the Metropolitan Police Authority plans the following cuts to police staff:
Labour has launched a petition against these cuts, calling on the Conservative Mayor Boris Johnson to:

-Abandon his plans to force 600 London police sergeants to reapply for their own jobs. They should be focusing on making the streets safe for Londoners, not worrying about their own jobs.

-Drop his plan to cut 300 sergeants from London's 630 safer neighbourhood teams. In February 2011, Boris Johnson's Deputy Mayor for Policing, Kit Malthouse pushed through plans to cut 300 sergeants from local beat teams.

-Reverse his decision to cut 1800 police officers in London over the next three years. Metropolitan Police Authority figures revealed that the number of police officers in London is being cut by 1,800 between 2011 to 2013/14.

You can sign the petition here