The police have a vital role in fighting crime and protecting people, but the police service cannot reduce and prevent crime on its own.

My officers rely on the support of responsible, law-abiding citizens, local communities and our borough partners to tackle crime and make Tower Hamlets a better and safer place to live, work, visit and raise families.

We work closely with the council and other partners to tackle crime and address the underlying problems that often contribute to crime – problems such as drug misuse and social exclusion.

At the same time we support individuals, families, communities and businesses to minimise their risk of becoming a victim of crime.

I resolve this New Year to continue to use every resource I have available to its fullest potential in order to keep the people of Tower Hamlets and their property safe from crime.

To this end I urge local residents and business owners to join with me to make our area even safer. If you know that someone is involved in criminality please contact us by dialling 101, or if you prefer to remain anonymous, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

You can also visit the Crimestoppers website where you can email information anonymously (your email address is scrambled when the message is received by Crimestoppers so you can’t be identified).

Last year brought significant challenges for our borough and through strong partnership and with the support of all communities we responded positively to those challenges on a united front.

As we move forward into the New Year I ask the people of Tower Hamlets to join with us in making 2014 a safe and happy year for our residents, businesses and visitors.

Please resolve not to be accepting of crime. If you have information that could help remove a criminal from your area please contact us.

I wish you all a wonderful 2014 and look forward to working with you and for you throughout the coming year.