On patrol with the PCs trying to make Croydon safer

BBC London joined the police patrol in Croydon

The fatal stabbing of 14-year-old Jermaine Cools in Croydon affected many in the south London borough.

The area also has the highest rate of domestic violence in the capital.

BBC London joined the Met's newest team on patrol to see what was being done to make the streets safer and what people thought about having more "bobbies on the beat".

Ch Supt Dave Stringer briefs the Croydon town centre patrol before they head out

The 25-strong team in Croydon is one of the capital's new town centre patrols, which aim to get more officers out on foot to reassure people and gather information from the community.

Ch Supt Dave Stringer said 21 PCs, three police sergeants and an inspector make up the Croydon team.

He explained: "Their job is to make Croydon town centre even safer by being really visible, to reduce youth violence, improve people's perceptions of safety and, critically at the moment, make women feel much safer as they go about their daily business."

During a walk through the town centre, several people took the opportunity to speak directly to two PCs who BBC London joined on their patrol.

Robert Swallow has lived on the estate behind the Centrale shopping centre for 40 years

One of those was Robert Swallow, who has lived on the estate behind the Centrale shopping centre for 40 years, where he has brought up three children and five grandchildren.

The 82-year-old was sweeping leaves as the police patrol approached and he told BBC London he was regularly bothered by drug dealing from cars parked near his home.

"There's a lot of drug dealing in the afternoons, so I like to see the police about," he said.

Part of the patrol was on Croydon's London Road

One of the officers, PC Alex Challis, said the estate was notorious as a place which young men would flee through to try and get rid of weapons, or even to arm themselves.

He said: "We find knives on the flat roofs around here because they don't want to get stopped with weapons on them.

"There are a lot of alleyways and you can see where they've hollowed out a crevice or a space behind a brick to leave a knife.

"It can be an 'instant arm' because you can see a handle sticking out and they can pull it out as they run past."

Jamara Brissett, 25, was shopping with her five-year-old son and her friend Porsha Caesar, 24

We headed into the Centrale shopping centre, where Jamara Brissett, 25, was shopping with her five-year-old son and her friend Porsha Caesar, 24.

Ms Brissett welcomed the extra foot patrols and said she worried about her son getting tangled up with gangs because "in seven years he will be 12".

"We need more of these guys [police] on the streets dealing with these youngsters, because from 12 to 19 they're roaming the streets after school.

"It makes me feel safer to see the patrols around but I think they should be in threes, not twos, because that will be more intimidating."

A shrine for Jermaine Coole has been created on London Road

On London Road a shrine has been created for Jermaine Cools, with numerous bouquets of flowers and handwritten messages left in the spot where he was killed.

A woman, who was too scared to be named and pictured, said her children attended a school close to where the attack happened and she felt reassured by seeing the police foot patrols.

She said she had a tracker on her phone so that she always knew where her children were because they were scared of gangs of boys who were "always roaming around" West Croydon.

Another mum, Hayley Besant, had four children with her including her new-born, and said: "We don't come out past four o'clock because everyone is getting stabbed."

Donna Murray-Turner welcomed the extra police but said she was worried about how they are funded and their training

Donna Murray-Turner, the Croydon Safer Neighbourhoods chair, agreed that seeing police officers out on the streets was a positive thing, although she stressed they would still need training up, because "they're young, not from round here, and they don't know how to speak to people".

"That visibility is a good deterrent," she said. "The situation is really bad when you can be staring right at a dealer as they're selling a fold of coke and they just don't care, so I think having the police there has got to be a good thing."

However, she was still concerned that bigger, private businesses who make up the Croydon Business Improvement District (BID), were able to pay for extra security patrols that smaller, independent businesses in poorer areas could not afford.

She said: "The smaller businesses on London Road can't afford to pay for extra policing, and I have questions to ask when police patrols that are supposed to be paid for from our taxes now have to be bought in, when the areas that need extra police most are not rich."

'Visibility is a good deterrent'

A Met Police spokeswoman stressed the new Town Centre Team has been set up and funded from the Met's existing funding and officers.

She added: "Croydon's Town Centre Team will work closely with the Croydon BID, who have historically been and continue to be one of our key partners in the area.

"The BID provide support for policing operations and initiatives in the area, and act as key link between the businesses and the Metropolitan Police Service."