As leader of Hammersmith and Fulham Council, Stephen Greenhalgh has a wealth of experience in helping to drive down crime and making communities safer.
Crime has fallen significantly in the Borough, in fact, following an enhanced 24-hour per day local policing operation across three of the busiest town centres.
Over the last 12 months, youth violence has fallen by 26%, business robbery by 47% and gun crime has almost halved (49%).
Hammersmith and Fulham was one of the first London Boroughs to take up the Mayor’s ‘buy one, get one free’ scheme and duly gained an additional 44 fully warranted police officers.
Working closely with the Mayor, Greenhalgh will ensure London is safer than ever by boosting the roll-out of an extra three police officers and three Special Constables in every Safer Neighbourhood Team. His focus on community policing resulted in Hammersmith and Fulham Council’s Neighbourhood Watch projects soaring from six to 150 schemes – in turn presenting a major deterrent to local criminals.
Greenhalgh has a long history of cutting waste and making dramatic savings, and has cut the council tax in his Borough, resulting in residents paying the fourth lowest rate of council tax in the UK. He has managed to deliver these efficiencies while also successfully halving the Council’s debt.
“Big beast of local London politics”
Boris Johnson explained: “Stephen is a big beast of local London politics who has proven time and again he can deliver more for less – cutting council tax in Hammersmith and Fulham while also helping to drive down crime to make neighbourhoods safer. He has a wealth of experience in uniting communities and pulling together the work of agencies to not only crackdown on crime but also continue our work in breaking the cycle of crime.”
Stephen Greenhalgh himself said: “Cutting crime, getting knives off our streets and ensuring we have the strong, effective police force Londoners deserve is the number one priority for me. I welcome the opportunity to build on the tremendous work the Mayor has already done in cutting crime by 10%.”
He added: “People can expect to see us tackling crime with more targeted police initiatives like the Met’s 1,000-strong Gangs Task Force. I’ll be overseeing a major boost to neighbourhood policing in every London Borough, resulting in more police on the streets and for a longer time. The eyes of the world will be on the capital in this Olympic year and I relish the challenge of working closely with the Met police to drive down crime and to build stronger, safer neighbourhoods throughout the city.”
- The appointment of deputy mayor for policing and crime is subject to the confirmation of the Assembly’s Policing and Crime Committee.
- Stephen Greenhalgh is Councillor for Town Ward in Fulham and was the first majority Conservative leader of the Council in Hammersmith and Fulham Council since 1968
- He cut council tax by 3% four years in a row, improving service standards from a three star to a maximum four star official rating, driving up residents’ satisfaction with Council services markedly and cracking down on crime with the only New York-style 24-hour Council-funded police teams in the UK
- In May 2008, Greenhalgh was appointed by the mayor to a panel overseeing an audit of City Hall finances