I was at a MOPAC (Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime) roadshow last week at Queen Mary University to talk about crime and confidence in Tower Hamlets.

Crime is falling in this part of London (eight per cent down in the last 12 months) and we are seeing a rise in confidence in local policing as well (six per cent up in the last 12 months) but what was absolutely clear from some of the questions I was being asked was that people really wanted to know, at a very local neighbourhood level, what police are doing about the drugs and anti-social behaviour that remain too common on some of our estates. We have now doubled the number of police officers on neighbourhood teams and remain absolutely committed to conducting anti-drugs operations each and every day.

Our weekend high-visibility operation in the Brick Lane area seems to be working well now and the vice team have also made a big impact in combating the crime and anti-social behaviour that is associated with street prostitution.

What I think we still need to do much more of is keeping people informed via social media, traditional news media and street briefings – exactly what we are doing locally on your ward.

Please do look out for the neighbourhood police team newsletters that will be coming through your doors in the next few weeks and the messages from your neighbourhood sergeants on Twitter. Also visit our website at content.met.police.uk/Borough/TowerHamlets to find out when your next street briefing or public meeting is.