Chelsea residents have been promised “continuity and accountability” from the Metropolitan Police when it comes to fighting crime on their streets.

Police Sergeant Tyler O’Hare made this assurance as he unveiled the Local Police Plan on Thursday, 20th February, in front of a capacity (80+) gathering at Petyt Hall, Chelsea Old Church.

In a frank address to the audience that included MP Ben Coleman, Superintendent Owen Renowden, RBKC councillors and cabinet members, as well as the Chairs of multiple Residents Associations, he is also stated categorically: “Every victim of crime in Chelsea will be contacted by a police officer.”

O’Hare, who has led community policing for the four Chelsea wards (Riverside, Stanley, Redcliffe and Royal Hospital) since July last year, said that his review since taking up the post had showed up many inadequacies in policing that he aims to fix during his tenure, which ends in December.

He found that one of the central historical flaws was that there had been “no consistency” in policing in Chelsea. This, he said, was largely due to officers too frequently being moved to new territories just as they had started to settle into their “beats”, or being distracted by other duties for the Met, not least crowd control at protest rallies in central London.

O’Hare said that since taking the helm he had experienced an “up-lift” as regards the interaction with community leaders which had “galvanised” a sense of mutual cooperation for his Pan-Chelsea Plan.

O’Hare revealed that the four wards now have a dedicated team that includes TWO Sergeants, NINE Constables and SEVEN Community Support Officers. He also spoke about the newly launched Chelsea Police Enquiry Line, which is now in place on a trial basis. The line will be manned from 11am-1pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and is for non-emergency reports. The number is: 0207 161 8984.

Ben Coleman made an introductory speech in which he said that he was “encouraged” by the sense of unity in the community for seeking a change to the way crime is tackled.

A recurring theme at the meeting was the need for residents to report crime – no matter how trivial. O’Hare and other speakers from the council emphasised that every reported incident leads to vitally important data that informs decisions when it comes to future policing.