Council to Fund Twenty-five Extra Police Officers
Would be based in Town Hall by CCTV control room
Wandsworth Council leader Robert Morritt in the CCTV control room. Picture: Wandsworth Council
October 2, 2026
Wandsworth Borough is set to get 25 new police officers patrolling the streets. The council expects to spend £3.1million on the scheme in its first year, and more money if it continues into future years.
The council plans to enter into an agreement with the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) for 25 Metropolitan Police officers, including 22 constables and three sergeants. The officers would be based in Wandsworth Town Hall and deployed to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour, if the proposals are formally approved.
A new report by council officers said the team would act on local issues that might not otherwise be prioritised, including anti-social behaviour, drugs and other key concerns.
The cost of the scheme is estimated to be £3.1m in its first year and higher in future years. The agreement would run for at least one year, with an option to extend for another two years.
The report said: “Working alongside other key council services will allow us to maximise the benefits of this investment. Work is therefore underway to ensure that the team is co-located with council teams, and close to the CCTV control room, with their main base within the Wandsworth campus footprint.
“A shared operating base would support faster information sharing, stronger daily tasking, better joint problem solving and a more visible partnership between the council and the police.”
The report said the new police officers could begin to be deployed early next year.
The authority is also developing proposals for a new integrated enforcement team combining police and council powers. It would have a head of service, 22 enforcement officers, a data analyst and technical support roles.
The team would use intelligence, crime data and resident feedback to target enforcement activity in hotspots and respond quicker to issues.
The council will also review enforcement services across the borough, including powers, staffing, operating hours, case management and fixed penalty levels.
The report said: “The aim is to create a coherent, responsive model that can address multiple local issues at once while reducing the overall cost of enforcement currently spread across teams and functions.”
The full cost of the new police officers, along with the equipment needed to make the changes and transport, and the integrated enforcement team would be £4.9m in 2027/28.
Wandsworth’s new Enforcement Committee will discuss the plans on Monday (5 October), before Cabinet makes a final decision on 12 October.
Charlotte Lilywhite - Local Democracy Reporter
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |