Lib Dem councillors in Highgate have welcomed moves by the Met to beef up neighbourhood policing in the area following growing concern about the crime rate.

However, Lib Dem leader and local councillor Neil Williams warns that Highgate must have its full complement of community police officers if the problem is to be fully addressed.

Cllr Williams says he has had increased complaints from local residents in recent weeks about burglary and car crime in the area and has raised the issue of Highgate policing at Haringey Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee and with Chief Supt Stephen Bloomfield, Haringey’s police boss.

Mr Bloomfield has agreed to increase uniformed police patrols in the area “with immediate effect” and has promised to look at other measures, which he will set out shortly.

Cllr Neil Williams comments:

“I am pleased that Haringey police has agreed to boost police patrols in Highgate, but I look forward to a wide programme of future action from the police.

“Highgate, along with Muswell Hill, has been without a beat officer for several months now, and this is very worrying. We also have a commitment that the Met will look at policing in the wider Highgate area, as because of its position on the edge of three boroughs, Highgate is often last to benefit from initiatives such as neighbourhood policing.

“Lynne Featherstone, who sits on the Metropolitan Police Authority, has a commitment from the MPA that this will now be addressed.”