Following the recent attack on a 15-year-old girl in Romford, Havering councillor David Taylor has issued a stark warning about the evident failures of local authorities to protect vulnerable residents. Instead of prioritising meaningful safety measures, the council continues to drag its feet, with unspent community infrastructure levy (CIL) funds sitting idle while incidents like this happen far too often. The community’s calls for expanded CCTV coverage—particularly in high-risk areas such as underground subways—have been largely ignored, illustrating a complacency that borders on neglect.

Taylor highlighted the alarming deterioration in safety conditions, pointing out that approximately a third of the borough’s CCTV cameras—23 out of 72—are out of order, rendering surveillance efforts ineffective when most needed. The tragic incident underscores the urgent need to reallocate the £8.2 million in unspent CIL funds, much of which remains unallocated despite clear community demands. It’s a stark example of how financial mismanagement and misplaced priorities hinder real progress in our town’s safety.

While council leader Ray Morgon touts ongoing safety initiatives, such as a £3 million upgrade to the CCTV network—including a new control room—these measures are reactive at best. Despite these investments, recent figures reveal that violent and sexual offences in Romford continue to rise, with April recording 81 such crimes—a clear indication that existing systems are failing to serve their purpose. Anti-social behaviour has also surged dramatically, yet meaningful action, such as full coverage of all surveillance points or community-led initiatives, remains elusive.

Councillor Taylor’s calls extend beyond just street surveillance; he advocates for safer parks, including petitions for locked park gates after hours and additional CCTV at their entrances—proposals that are common-sense solutions ignored by a council seemingly more interested in box-ticking than effective crime prevention. Residents, especially mothers, express genuine concern for their children’s safety walking home at night, yet the response remains underwhelming and insufficient.

Adding political pressure, the recent election results have only highlighted how out of touch the current administration remains with community safety needs. Instead of addressing the root causes of rising crime, the ruling coalition appears to prioritise political messaging over tangible actions—allocating funds to show faces rather than fix the broken infrastructure that promotes crime. As former political figures and advocates for change have pointed out, genuine community safety requires a real overhaul, increased funding for neighbourhood policing, and a clear commitment to utilising existing resources effectively.

The recent crime summit may have acknowledged some safety concerns, but the fact remains that the borough’s crime rates are climbing, and residents are losing faith in these so-called safety initiatives. Without a proportional and swift response—such as fully repairing and expanding CCTV networks, locking down public spaces after hours, and properly funding local law enforcement—Romford’s residents risk continued vulnerability and a dangerous sense of abandonment.

It is high time that local authorities stop empty promises and start implementing the meaningful, immediate measures necessary to keep our streets safe from the scourge of crime. The community deserves far more than the token gestures and half-hearted policies that currently dominate Havering’s approach to public safety.

Source: Noah Wire Services