Sadiq Khan pledges £3m 'gangbusters' to walk streets in 15 boroughs after school to stop robberies

Sadiq Khan has pledged to spend £3 million on 'gangbusters' to 'identify and target top offenders' in 15 London boroughs if he were re-elected on May 2. The policy, the Mayor of London says, would tackle robberies by deploying street-based youth workers focusing on peak after-school hours for exploitation and violence.

Data would be used to find and combat individuals committing crimes. The extra cash would fund the measure in up to 15 boroughs, identified by robbery crime data.

The package also includes supporting the Met Police to develop an R100 - a data-led approach to target the most prolific robbery offenders. This replicates the successful V100 initiatives, the force's new initiative to protect women and girls using 'precision policing', which has seen 60 suspects arrested since August. The mayor's team adds that it would help to take the worst offenders off of London’s streets.

READ MORE: Sadiq Khan urges Met Police to follow any new lines 31 years after Stephen Lawrence murder

Mr Khan adds that he would support the Met Police to use its powers to enter commercial premises to 'search for stolen phones and disrupt the trade in stolen goods'. This is part of a wider plan to work with police and local authorities on a pilot scheme to combat the second-hand mobile phone market.

Mr Khan said: "Nothing is more important to me than the safety of Londoners. People need to feel safe on their busy local high streets which in some cases can be the focus of gang activity. And young people need to be protected from exploitation"

“I want to tackle high street crime head on. As part of my new £3 million gangbusters plan, we’ll have extra police targeting the worst hotspots where people are more like to be victims. I’m also investing in new street-based youth workers, focussed on those key after-school hours when young people are most likely to get caught up in crime in their local areas.

“Through using powers for the police to enter and inspect commercial premises, we’ll disrupt the illegal market in second-hand mobile phones head-on – making sure we do all we can to stop criminals re-purposing and making money from Londoners’ stolen phones.”

Susan Hall promises more police

It comes the day after Susan Hall, Mr Khan's Tory rival for the mayoralty, unveiled her manifesto. She has vowed to recruit 1,500 new police officers and maintain two police bases in every borough if elected.

Ms Hall says she would 'boost the number of bobbies on the beat', reopen closed stations, and keep residents safe. Her plan would see two police bases opened in every borough, which would help to address, she claims, the 36 police stations closed under Mr Khan.

The former hairdresser owner adds that new officers would help stop crimes and 'rebuild trust' with communities. In her manifesto, Ms Hall has also promised to 'get knives off our streets'.

Mr Khan has promised that he would recruit 1,300 extra Met officers, PCSOs and special constables.

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