Havering CMG looks for volunteers following their fantastic partnership with East Area police.

Stop and search is an important tool for the police to use. It can be an intrusive tool so its use must be executed correctly. Here across the three East Area boroughs, it is scrutinised by CMG groups who monitor how it is used.

Ian from the Havering CMG group told the Havering Daily:

“I am the current Chair of the Havering CMG, and we are a group from our Havering community that meets regularly with the Metropolitan Police, and holds them to account over their use of their Stop & Search (S&S) powers.

“Recently, MOPAC (The Mayors Office for Policing and Crime) has challenged the London Borough CMG teams to be representative of the communities that we represent.

“I am pleased to say that Havering is one of the few Borough CMG’s across London that is proud to state that we feel ARE REPRESENTATIVE of our diverse community make-up.

“However, we need to ensure that we have a good “quorum” of representative members – so that ALL views from across our Borough have a voice within the CMG.

“Our CMG has a proud link with the Havering Youth Parliament (sought from Secondary School aged young persons up to 18 years of age), and welcomes the views of these young people on this sensitive subject of Stop & Search – as these age groups feature heavily on the Havering S&S statistics and crime figures.

“The CMG also focuses on the diversity of the Borough, and as Havering’s demographics change with the passing of years, so we must ensure that the CMG remains representative of our Borough, and also the Met Police Officers use of S&S on the minority groups that live, work and socialise within our Borough.

“I have worked with my CMG Vice Chair (Linda Van Den Hende) in drafting the words below – which I am hoping to be able to be placed as an article of interest to draw interest from new members of the borough to join the Havering S&S CMG, and to help us to continue to hold the Met Police to account (as “Critical Friends”) in their use of their Stop & Search Powers.

I would welcome any support that your Community Social Media can provide in our goal to draw interest from the Community, and so maintain our overview of the Police.”

East Area Lead for Stop and Search Inspector Holgate told the Havering Daily: “It is great to have groups like the CMG here and be actively involved in what we do. They are a voice for the community and regularly review officer’s body warn cameras.

“Our use of stop and search is intelligence led and is vital in disrupting the work criminals do in our communities.

“Thanks to groups like this we can work hand in hand with the community, listen to their needs and review our practices to make sure we are all working together.”

If you would like to join the Havering CMG and be a critical friend of the police, please email us at newsdesk@thehaveringdaily.co.uk and we will put you in contact with Ian.

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