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Labour Throws-in Towel over Drugs War
January 12, 2010 6:04 PM
Labour's tough talk over the open sale of drugs in Brixton Town Centre within sight of the Town Hall looks to be just that - talk.
Lambeth police commander Nick Ephgrave apparently conceded that he has not been given enough officers to patrol the political heart of the borough and a key transport hub that thousands of commuters use to get to work. Many commuters are forced daily to run the gauntlet of gangs of drug dealers openly peddling their wares near bus stops and Brixton Tube.
Lambeth Labour politicians have made much of how they have changed the image of Brixton as a magnet for drugs tourism but residents from outlying areas of Clapham, Streatham and Norwood who use Brixton to reach their workplaces by tube say they face constant harassment by drug dealers and risk being victim to other potential criminal acts.
Matters came to a head recently when Streatham Lib Dem Councillor Julian Heather waited at a bus stop and was harassed by persistent drug-pushers. When he objected and tried to ring the police for assistance he was manhandled to the ground and had a pint of milk poured over him.
Cllr Heather who was more shaken than stirred by his ordeal complained to the police that they had not responded with sufficient urgency to his call for assistance. Cllr Heather later discovered the CCTV camera covering the bus stop used by commuters after they leave the tube station, is blocked by a large road sign. Consequently the police had no footage of the incident to identify the assailant.
Cllr Heather said, "What is the point of having expensive CCTV in the heart of Brixton that is obscured by road signs? This is madness - someone could be killed next time at this busy bus stop and the police would have no means of identifying the perpetrator."
Cllr Heather added, "This just exposes Labour's hollow words about tackling crime and drug dealing in Brixton. Dealers openly flout the law because there are insufficient police on the streets - while Lambeth's CCTV cameras look at the back of road signs. Commuters are being put at risk by this folly."