COUNCIL leader Chris Robbins has put the borough's case for more police officers to the deputy Mayor of London.
Cllr Robbins met Kit Malthouse to discuss the possibility of ending Waltham Forest's disproportionately low police numbers.
Cllr Robbins believes the borough needs an extra 120 officers or it risks becoming a “soft touch” for criminals in the run up to the 2012 Olympics.
He said: “We don’t preferential treatment, we just want a fair deal.
“We have disproportionate levels of serious crime in our borough compared to many other London boroughs such as Hackney but far too few police officers.
“We think the best way to deal with the problems facing us is to have more officers on the ground tackling the crimes that people are most concerned by - robbery, drug dealing and gang crime.”
“We had a full and frank exchange with Kit Malthouse about our need for extra police officers.
“We also discussed serious youth crime and high levels of sexual assault in our borough and we'll continue to work constructively with the Metropolitan Police Authority and the police to tackle these issues of concern to residents.”
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