We have received the following message from our local police Area Commander, DCS Stephen Clayman – 

We recognise that COVID-19 (Coronavirus) is of great concern to everyone throughout the country at the moment, but I just wanted to reassure you that locally the Met is, and will continue to, work around the clock to keep our communities safe and deliver a critical service of business under the current circumstances. Although we are continuing to monitor the current situation, we are running a business as usual model responding to operational need and demand and are being as flexible as possible to achieve this.

Where possible we are also following the Public Health England (PHE) advice and we are reviewing our position about not sending police representatives to public meetings and panels, as we must ensure we play our part in managing any increase in spread of the virus. We ask that you continue to contact us via email or phone and I would also advise keeping an eye on the local Twitter channels, @MetpoliceUK, along with our updates on other local channels too. (Editor’s note – Emerson Park Police Twitter available here)

We do think it is vital to maintain channels of communication between the police and community. We would be particularly keen to hear if you or your residents have any direct concerns about community tensions. Your Neighbourhood team can be contacted in the normal means (via telephone, email, or via the met website: www.met.police.uk/, ‘what’s happening in my area’, type in your postcode, and then scroll down to ‘contact my team). Alternatively you can call 101 or, in an emergency, 999 and you can also report crime and anti-social behaviour online via the website.

You may have seen the recent statement by Commissioner Cressida Dick in the Evening Standard on Tuesday (also available here), that discusses how our brave officers will continue to deliver the top tier service many of us are used to and expect.

I have no doubt that the coming weeks and months will provide many challenges for all of us, however it is more important than ever that we continue to work closely with each other and support each other during this period. We are working closely with Barking & Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge local authorities and are keeping the current situation under regular review.

Stephen Clayman East Area BCU Commander