Matthew visited the Central Communications Command centre at the Peel Centre in Colindale to see how the Metropolitan Police deal with up to 10,000 emergency calls at this time of year. There are three Command centres – located at Bow, Lambeth and Hendon. The centres were opened in 2004, replacing the Information Room at New Scotland Yard, which had previously handled all emergency calls, the existing Borough Control Rooms, which were responsible for local despatch and Telephone Operator Centres, which were responsible for answering all other non-emergency calls.
Having recently been appointed Vice Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Policing, Matthew is keen to become more involved in the working of the police service and securing improvements in the delivery of policing. As part of the visit, Matthew took part in a 999 emergency simulation and acted as a dispatcher taking a call.
Matthew said: "The introduction of the 101 non-emergency number alongside the 999 emergency service and the changes introduced by the Neighbourhood Policing Model have changed working conditions. These changes have been welcomed by local police officers who have told me that they see them as an improvement, allowing more time for officers to be seen on the streets.
“I am committed to protecting frontline policing and maintaining a first class service to the public. The proportion of officers on the front line is increasing, the number of neighbourhood officers has gone up, crime is down, victim satisfaction is improving and the response to emergency calls is being maintained.
“Many of the doomsayers claimed that changes to the funding of the police would lead to outbreaks of crime and violence – but the opposite is true. Recorded crime has dropped by more then 10% under the current Government as police visibility has increased. This shows that it is not simply the number of police officers which is important but what they are doing. Decisions to reduce bureaucracy are now showing results and this can be seen in the Hendon constituency and across London.”