Member of Parliament for Beckenham & West Wickham, Bob Stewart, has joined local Councillors in petitioning the Deputy Mayor of London (Police & Crime) to fund a new Police vehicle for the Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNTs) in the Wards of Hayes & Coney and West Wickham Wards to use jointly.
The SNTs have been working from Bromley Police Station since January 2022 after the Labour Mayor of London closed the Police base in West Wickham which was used by both sets of SNTs. This means that more Police time is being spent traveling to and from the Wards. Bob and the Councillors argue that a marked minibus would allow the SNTs to have a mobile base in the community and not be dependent on public transport.
Petition: Give Hayes & West Wickham Safer Neighbourhood Teams a Police Minibus
We the undersigned, call on the Mayor’s Office for Policing & Crime (MOPAC) to fund a new Police vehicle, preferably a marked minibus, for joint use of the Safer Neighbourhood teams in West Wickham and Hayes & Coney Hall Wards. The latter includes the rural areas of Keston Village and Nash.
Previously the Police teams were working from the West Wickham Police base, which was closed by the Mayor of London in January 2022. Since then, the teams have been based at Bromley Police Station. While locations across the Wards can be reached by bus from Bromley South, the Police could reach their destinations much faster if they had access to a vehicle. This would give them more time to do their job which is to fight crime. For example, it can take between 20 to 30 minutes to travel by bus from Bromley South to Keston or West Wickham, whereas a drive would take approximately 10 minutes.
A minibus would provide a more visible Police presence in the area and also allow the teams to travel faster across the Wards. It would give them a mobile base and somewhere to take a break.
