The last few weeks have been exceptionally busy for the police in Tower Hamlets. We started July off with the by-election under great scrutiny, went immediately on to the large music festivals in Victoria Park, Field day and Lovebox and then continued with some of our major relgious festivals. Fortunately, despite all the demands on our resources, we were able to keep all the usual elements of our service going as normal and crime continues to fall.

Hopefully many people will have seen by now the series of events being held in local neighbourhoods supported through some funding from the Metropolitan Police. Intended as part of a programme across many parts of London called Summer Night Lights we are intending to engage with a large number of local people about issues relevant to their neighbourhoods in an informal setting, where people can engage with fun activities and meet the local teams. This series of events started on Friday, August 1 and I know the local teams have been really enjoying these events.

And to finish the column on a very positive note it was a great privilege to meet so many of our police cadets at the Annual Cadet Awards at George Green School recently. Whenever anyone talks to me about crime and young people I always remind them of the fantastic work our cadets do to help their local community. Tower Hamlets Cadet Scheme is seen as a real “trail blazer” across London and we have been asked to spread some of our good practice across the rest of the Met. I was absolutely delighted to find out that two head cadets from last year have now become Special Constables in London and from what I can see the enthusiasm, hard work and motivation of our young cadets make me exceptionally optimistic for the borough and for the Metropolitan Police in the future.

More Dave Stringer.