The recently appointed Borough Commander of Greenwich Police, Richard Wood, has made clear his support for single patrolling by his officers.

Mr Wood expressed his support for the measure whilst walking the beat himself and talking to local people recently in Greenwich, Woolwich and Eltham town centres.

Commander Wood said:

“I will ask my officers to patrol singly where they can. We need to maximise the amount of uniforms on the streets even though there might be times when it is necessary to patrol in pairs because of safety. I am keen to ensure that we increase our presence on the streets of Greenwich.”

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson said back in March that single patrolling should be the “default” position although at the time, the Police Federation’s London branch chairman, Peter Smyth, told the Times that it was a “nice soundbite” but it could “leave officers open to malicious complaints”.

He added:

“Would they (single-patrolling officers) be effective if they can’t intervene in things because they have not got corroboration? If they have to wait for 10 minutes for their colleague to arrive whenever a problem arises, the whole exercise would be pretty pointless.”

Mr Wood also expressed his commitment to meeting the Met’s Policing Pledge. He said he intended to “ensure that every single point of the Pledge is met by my officers”.

What do you think? How do you think Greenwich Police are doing? Do you welcome Borough Commander Wood’s support for single patrolling?

Greenwich Borough Commander Wood talking to local people in Greenwich.