THE Metropolitan Police Authority has said Waltham Forest has enough police– despite council leader Chris Robbins' plea for extra officers.

Following an internal Met report, Cllr Robbins said the borough is about 120 officers short of what it needs combat crime more effectively.

But a Met Police Authority spokesman said: “There is a regular workforce planning meeting where borough numbers are closely managed and monitored and all business group are represented.

“There has been no request for additional police officers either from the borough commander or territorial policing.

“Waltham Forest is at or near the number of police officers they are required to have at this time.”

The numbers of police for each borough are calculated using a complex “resource allocation formula”.

Cllr Robbins believes Waltham Forest has been short-changed in its number of officers because it is still classed as an outer London borough, despite having comparable crime profiles to Newham, Hackney and Tower Hamlets, all of which have 200 more police officers than Waltham Forest.

Cllr Robbins has said that he fears criminals may see Waltham Forest as a “soft touch” in the run-up to the Olympics unless the situation is rectified.

Waltham Forest acting borough commander Sue Williams said: “It is our duty to provide the best possible service to the public and this includes being visible on the streets and in your neighbourhoods to prevent crime from happening in the first place.

“As such we would always welcome additional resources in order to tackle priority crime and to work with communities to address local concerns."