Campaign for increased police presence in Croydon Photo: Rohith Katbamna

Croydon Council has initiated a new campaign to get more police officers on the streets in the borough.

The council is urging local residents and businesses to back the campaign by signing a petition either online, by text or simply filling out postcards at libraries.

The next step will have the council presenting this petition to Mayor Boris Johnson in hopes to fulfill the much needed security measures for public safety.

The campaign comes at a time where Croydon, the largest London borough, has only the eighth highest number of police officers whereas other boroughs with considerably less crime are allocated more of the Met’s finest.

Cllr Gavin Barwell, cabinet member for safety and cohesion, said: “Our local police do a fantastic job and our strong partnership has resulted in some significant shared successes, such as the ongoing Safe For All initiative which reduced knife crime and youth violence in the borough last year.

“But the number of full-time police officers in Croydon does not adequately reflect the number of offences. For example, Newham, Hackney and Tower Hamlets have all been allocated more full time police officers than Croydon, yet as they are much smaller than Croydon, they have to deal with fewer offences.

“Croydon is a major transport hub, retail destination and has a huge night-time economy. The borough needs a strong local police force to handle these challenges and the current Metropolitan Police Resource Allocation Formula simply does not provide us with enough manpower.”

To sign the petition, text MORE POLICE, followed by your name, first line of your address and postcode to 60660. Alternatively log on to www.croydon.gov.uk/morepolice to sign online. Residents can also show their support by filling in and posting postcards, which can be found at all Croydon libraries. Stamp will not be necessary.