WELCOME TO ALERTCOMMS

13th August 2011 　 　 WELCOME TO ALERTCOMMS Police Communication to the Community ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------　 　 　 Updates and advice f or businesses; Met flickr disorder images; 　 　 　　　　　　　　 The Met Police leadership is very proud of the dedication and bravery displayed by officers and staff who put themselves in harms way and continue to work with communities out on our streets. They demonstrated why the Met Police has a world class reputation in policing. They showed discipline and professionalism, which should never be seen as a sign of weakness. 　　　　　　　　 The Met Police strongly refutes that the wrong tactics were used. 　 　　　　　　　　 Police Officers did not 'just stand by' 　 　　　　　　　　 The scale and breadth of incidents 　 　 　 　　　　　　　　 The changing nature of the disorder witnessed over the period from Saturday 6th to Tuesday 9th August was significant. o 　　　　　　　 On Saturday disorder was localized to Haringey and concentrated i n a half mile area of Tottenham High Street, focused on attacking the police. o 　　　　　　　 On Sunday this became far more sporadic, mobile and commercially motivated. o 　　　　　　　 On Monday again it was sporadic in nature, but much more organized through the use of social media. 　　　　　　　　 Monday night was the worst the MPS has seen in current memory · 　　　　　　　　 As the operation progressed senior officers reviewed tactics and increased the number of officers. 　 　 　　　　　　　　 We continue to relentlessly pursue all of those involved in criminality.　 　　　　　　　　 The Met has been overwhelmed by the levels of public support, including a Facebook page attracting around a million messages of support. Similarly the number of hits on Flickr to view the images of suspects has grown to over six million. 　 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 　 　 　 For further information, please contact your nearest police station: Romford　Police Station Telephone: 101 Opening Hours: 24 hours a day 　 　 　 　 From 3,000 on Sunday, to 6,000 on Monday, more than the total size of W.Yorks police, and very early on Tuesday, plans were in place to enable 13,000 officers to be available that night. Mutual aid, the cancellation of all leave and the support from the Special Constabulary contributed to this. for unacceptable levels of widespread looting, fires and disorder. Officers put themselves on the line to protect life and communities. on Monday night, when 22 of London's 32 boroughs saw se rious disorder, was unprecedented. The number of 999 calls increased by almost 400% in a 24hr period. The Fire Brigade received over 1,700 to reports of fires burning. At their peak the number of crime scenes numbered over 500. but had to make difficult choices to prioritise incidents where public safety was at risk. The setting of fires and use of violence against emergency services, including the targeting of police officers, was an example of the cynical tactics used to tie up resources. Policing is not an exact science. At times it is about making difficult judgements on the ground. The Met's ability to attend and intervene in some criminality particularly on Sunday and Monday was challenged by the overwhelming number and nature of incidents and the number of officers available. http://www.flickr.com/photos/metropolitanpolicehttp://content.met.police.uk/News/Updates-and-advice-for-businesses/1260269396125/1257246745756