COUNCIL leader Chris Robbins warns that criminals may see Waltham Forest as a “soft touch” in the run up to the Olympics because of a lack of police officers in the borough.

Due to a funding formula which continues to class Waltham Forest as outer London, it has just 562 police officers, compared to 768 in neighbouring Newham, 761 in Hackney and 778 in Tower Hamlets – this is despite the boroughs having similar populations.

And whereas Newham, Tower Hamlets and Hackney saw recorded crime DROP by 6.2 per cent, 10.3 per cent and 8.3 per cent respectively in the year to July, there were an extra 1,012 crimes committed in Waltham Forest.

Council leader Chris Robbins, and Afzal Akram, the council's community safety cabinet member, is to ask the Met for more officers at an emergency meeting on August 26.

He said he was worried that criminals moving in to the area in the run up to the 2012 Olympics may see Waltham Forest as a “soft touch” because of the low police numbers.

He also cited the recent Government survey which showed Waltham Forest residents are the fifth least satisfied with their local area in London as evidence they don't feel safe.

Cllr Robbins said: “In the south of the borough, in Leyton, Leytonstone and parts of Walthamstow, we have the same problems with drugs and gang crime as inner London boroughs.

“The borough is changing, and we are not an outer borough like Bexley, for instance, which is miles away, we think this is a legitimate call for the situation to be re-assessed.”

Cllr Robbins has calculated that the borough is around 120 officers short of what it needs.

He said: “Don't try and tell me that the crime figures would have increased by as much if we had those extra officers, because they would not.

“Our police do an excellent job but having more officers to focus on drugs and gang crime will free other officers up to deal with burglaries and other offences.”

The Guardian is awaiting a response from the Met