Christmas and New year message

Det Chief Supt Sandra Looby, Haringey Borough Commander, said: 2012 has been an exciting year for Haringey and that is largely down to the support and enthusiasm of the community - especially the younger members. From the Value Life march put on every year by Gladesmore Community School to the HYPE (Haringey Young People Empowered) community Football Tournament and Spirit of London Awards - this year has been a great one for youth and youth engagement. 

I would especially like to thank the students and staff at Gladesmore Community School as they have worked exceptionally hard and innovatively to show the world all that is good about Tottenham and Haringey. They seem to have a knack for bringing rays of positivity and sunshine to anything they are involved in. We were happy to provide support for the Value Life march once more and for our officers to not only stop the traffic for the ‘Everybody Dreams’ flash dance video in Tottenham High Road, but to get down and dance alongside the young people! 

Gladesmore rightly deserved their place in the final of the ‘Young Hero’ category at the Spirit of London Awards (SOLA) and to us they are winners, as are the three inspirational Tottenham students that started clothing company Doccia Apparel as part of a school business project, and young comic book designer Zoom Rockman who won the ‘Achievement in Media’ category with his comic The Zoom (I hear we feature in the next edition!). 

We policed the challenges presented by the arrival of the Olympic Torch in the best traditions of the Met, and it was a great pleasure to see crowds of people of all ages with smiles on their faces, come out to see the torch being carried across the borough by inspirational people.

Over the last year we have introduced a number of schemes and initiatives designed to demonstrate our commitment to the local area and our desire to be a real part of the local community. This includes introducing an induction programme for new officers to link in with key members of the community and understand their perspective on policing and the history of Haringey, as well as working with them on projects to find solutions to local issues; workshops with young people at CONEL to promote a better two-way understanding of stop and search, its use and impact on young people; an officer allocated to every secondary school; we are involving the community in planning and feeding back on police operations; and we have appointed a youth engagement coordinator - a police officer whose job it is to continue building bridges with young people and diffuse negative perceptions of police. 

We want local people to know we are approachable and committed to cutting crime, taking tough action against offenders and making their borough a safe place to live and work in

Working with young people, alongside our partner agencies, is a key part of that to ensure they feel part of the community and can become involved in worthwhile activities.

Much credit should be given to members of the community who have been keen to work closely with us and strengthen relationships.

Please continue to help us make a positive difference in Haringey by talking to us about your concerns. It is in response to your information about crime and disorder that we have carried out numerous operations, made hundreds of arrests, closed down addresses linked to drugs and prostitution and convicted many criminals in 2012.

I would like to pay tribute my officers and staff, who have worked to reel in criminals, support victims of crime and protect the public, and to the many members our extended police family made up of members of the community who give their free time because they want to do something positive; our young Volunteer Cadets, Special Constables and those that provide valuable support in a variety of roles under the Met Volunteer Programme.

In 2013 we will continue to keep criminals on the back foot and bring them to justice; do all we can to prevent people becoming a victim of crime; and work with our partner agencies to provide the best possible support to anyone that has the misfortune of becoming a victim of crime.

We are committed to working with local communities to respond even more effectively to serious crime and anti-social behaviour; delivering a high quality and professional police service; reducing crime and listening and responding to all of our communities to make Haringey safer.

On behalf of all of my officers and staff, I wish you a safe, enjoyable and peaceful time over the festive season and into the New Year.