A petition calling for more effective policing across Newham has been launched by a concerned councillor.

Newham Recorder: Cllr Shaban Mohammed is organising a petition for more targetted policing in Canning Town in response to what he says are disproportionately high levels of crime in their area.Cllr Shaban Mohammed is organising a petition for more targetted policing in Canning Town in response to what he says are disproportionately high levels of crime in their area. (Image: Archant)

Cllr Shaban Mohammed, who represents the Canning Town North ward, is asking residents to back his call for the Met Police presence on the streets of Newham to be increased to reflect the challenging circumstances facing the borough in terms of crime.

The situation has been made worse due to budget cuts to the police, local government grants and the criminal justice system, he argues.

“I would say that 80 per cent of my case work is all to do with policing and anti-social behaviour in the area,” he said.

Cllr Mohammed, who launched the petition last week, argues that there are parts of his ward where inadequate policing means residents and business owners live in constant fear for their safety.

“We are really, really stretched in terms of policing,” he said.

He hopes to get at least 1,500 signatures for his petition in Canning Town by knocking on residents’ doors and speaking to people in the street.

Cllr Mohammed’s aim is that the petition will then be taken across the borough before being handed to mayor of London Sadiq Khan by Unmesh Desai, Newham’s Labour London Assembly member.

The petition states: “We are fearful and angry at the big increase in crime and antisocial behaviour in our borough and are convinced this is a direct result of government cuts to police, courts and local authority budgets.

“These budgets have been cut to the bone. We call on the mayor to continue to fight to ensure the police have the resources they need to keep our community safe.”

Cllr Mohammed, who was newly elected this year, launched the petition at the Custom House and Canning Town Community Neighbourhood Centre in Maud Street alongside Mr Desai and fellow anti-crime campaigners and business owners from his ward on Thursday.

A spokesman for the mayor of London blamed rising levels of violent crime on the decision to cut the Met Police’s budget, which he said has resulted in the loss of 3,000 officers, and vowed to campaign for better resources for the capital’s police force.