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A team of 27 hand-picked beat officers is to be put on the streets of Shepherds Bush to drive the yobs, thieves and muggers out of town, and Hammersmith & Fulham Council is looking for a sheriff to lead them.
"Lawlessness in Hammersmith & Fulham is local resident's biggest concern," says Councillor Greg Smith, cabinet member for crime & anti-social behaviour.
"Residents want protection and they want it round the clock. We will be the first council in the UK to put local patrols on the streets, day and night, every day of the year.
"These patrols will also be reporting enviro-crimes like fly-tipping and graffiti which will really help the council clean up our town."
Hammersmith & Fulham Council is pumping in £1.5 million over two years to pay for the patrols in Shepherds Bush.
The scheme goes live in April 2007.
If they are a success there, the council plans to move sheriffs into other parts of town too. Each sheriff will have a 5 sergeants, 10 police constables and 15 police community support officers and will be competing with other sheriffs for the lowest crime figures.
Acting Borough Commander David Page, who has been given the job of making the scheme work on the ground, says, "I am relishing this unique opportunity to trial 24/7 community based policing. I am looking forward to turning the vision of round the clock beat policing into a reality."
Met Assistant Commissioner Tim Godwin says, "The council came to us with this idea and we were happy to discuss it with them. A strong partnership arrangement is needed to deliver this pilot project and we are confident that the results will be impressive."
The ground breaking scheme is expected to be closely watched by other authorities as well as Whitehall.
Chairman of the Metropolitan Police Authority Len Duvall says, "The pilot scheme in Hammersmith and Fulham is a major development and after proper evaluation will be a very useful contribution to the future of London policing, and support from local business would be very welcome."
