My Local Bobby
My Local Bobby Limited[1] is a security company based in London established by two by former Metropolitan Police Service officers David McKelvey and Tony Nash in 2016. It is owned by TM Eye Ltd.
Coverage
[edit]It initially operated in Belgravia, Mayfair and Kensington and claims to provide “Dixon of Dock Green style policing”. It plans to expand into other areas, and in 2019 was also operating in the Monkhams area of Redbridge, where one of their employees, a former Coldstream Guard, was reported as having apprehended a burglar and assisted a man who had been shot.[2] Clients pay up to £200-a-month for a direct line to a local officer, who wear distinctive red caps and bibs. They are said to be highly trained ex-soldiers and Met officers. Customers can track them on an iPad. They patrol the neighbourhood and make citizens’ arrests. They confront people found littering, urinating, doing drugs, stealing or acting suspiciously. A meet-and-greet service from Tube stations or cars is available, and enhanced protection can be negotiated.[3] The company investigates crimes and can launch private prosecutions. It has achieved more than 500 convictions for fraud, intellectual property theft, theft shoplifting, theft person and other offences.[4] It has provided escorts for local residents who are afraid of knife crime.[5]
Criticism
[edit]The company has been criticised as privatisation by stealth,[6] threatening to "take us back to the 18th century when “thief-takers” were employed by crime victims."[7] The Labour leader of the opposition at Westminster City Council pointed out that it did not operate in "the areas that you would prioritise to tackle crimes and give reassurance to residents at risk of crime." The Metropolitan Police Service stressed that such services did not have access to the Police National Database.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ "My Local Bobby Limited overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". Companies House. 17 November 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
- ^ "Brave veteran rushes to rescue man shot in neck and chest in Woodford Green". Ilford Recorder. 17 July 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
- ^ "The growth of private policing is eroding justice for all". Guardian. 10 September 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
- ^ "Britain's first private police force to go nationwide after success in London's wealthiest neighbourhoods". Evening Standard. 6 May 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
- ^ "Scared residents hire private bobbies to walk them home". The Times. 24 November 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
- ^ "Our policing is being privatised by stealth". The Times. 11 September 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
- ^ "Private police forces threaten to take us back to the bad old days of "thief-takers"". New Statesman. 29 August 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
- ^ "London's richest neighbourhoods to get own private police force". Independent. 7 March 2017. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2019.