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Policing the City of Westminster

Published UK Home Office research shows that people want partnership in local policing with better communication, information and involvement. Four out of five respondents said police should have better ways of finding out local people's views. See The Government's consultation work 'Policing: Building safer communities together' http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk and our Building Safer Communities Together page

The SWG partnership aims are established within the UK's Metropolitan Police Service (The MET). You can see the MET criteria for this joint police/community relationship at our Metropolitan Police & Sector Working Groups (SWGs) page.

Our SWG works to an established set of Key Criteria & Principles which all members value and are used as a template by many observers of 'best practice' in police/community relations for building safer neighbourhoods. These Principles can be read at http://www.padpolice.com/keycriteria&principles.php. Our SWG Constitution can be read at our page at http://www.padpolice.com/constitution.php

Making It Happen, Making A Difference

The SWG for Paddington was the first Divisional police/community consultative group in the The MET. For more than ten years it has been working in partnership with police, Westminster City Council and other multi-agencies, in order to reduce crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour across the Paddington Police Division of inner London. The success of the SWG has had the added bonus of improvements to local policing confidence and to the reputation of the Police Service itself.

Our SWG has a constitution which holds members of the diverse community accountable for specific crime and disorder issues causing concern - e.g. youth crime, prostitution, vice, aggressive begging, hotel/retail burglaries, street crime, anti-social behaviour, quality of life matters, the fear of crime etc. These individuals represent traders, visitors, businesses and residents across this multi cultural part of London. Annually the SWG and the community representatives prioritise the major policing issues and these form part of our community safety strategy.

The Community Safety Strategy for the SWG feeds into London's Westminster Borough-wide Crime & Reduction Strategy and contributes to policing priorities in the UK capital. These can be viewed at our Crime & Disorder Reduction Unit page.

The SWG and police believe if you are effectively going to deal with, and ultimately reduce, crime and disorder problems which have been identified as important, there must be partnership - a joint commitment between Police AND the community they serve. Residents, businesses and visitors to Paddington are fortunate that their representatives from their multi diverse inner city community achieve this through their SWG.

Inspector Paula Light Leader of the Paddington Police Community Safety and Safer Neighbourhood Teams

Inspector Light is the police officer leading the Sector Working Group (SWG) and the community safety and safer neighbourhood teams at Paddington Division and does not underestimate the significance of the SWG police and community partnership at local service delivery level.

"The importance and influence of a well run and vibrant SWG that is truly representative of the whole Community, - particularly the 'hard to reach' groups - cannot be overstated. It is imperative that we all work together, in partnership, to reduce crime and disorder and the fear of crime and anti-social behaviour. Paddington Police Division has a very strong SWG that has a proven track record of success. Its vitality and leadership provide a powerful conduit to the local Police. In today's unpredictable world of global terrorism, the SWG provides an increasingly important intelligence value by bringing 'hard to reach' groups on board that are more prepared to work together with the Police to detect and reduce crime. We police by consent - and as such the SWG has a vital role to play if the Police are to gain and maintain the confidence of our whole multi cultural community."

The Chair of the Metropolitan Police Paddington Division Sector Working Group

Lynda King Taylor is the Chair of Paddington Police/Community Sector Working Group (SWG). "The Police and our SWG committee encourage all community representatives to join the SWG. It is important that the SWG is truly representative of all the diverse sections of our community, particularly the 'hard to reach 'groups in our multi cultural Paddington. By working together we will be better able to identify the real issues on crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour and how they can be resolved. The Paddington Division Police team, and all on the SWG, would encourage all sections of the community to commit to and join our partnership, their SWG."