London mayor Sadiq Khan has pledged to put two police officers on the beat in every council ward in the capital by the end of 2017.

Mr Khan announced today (Thursday, July 21), all of London’s 629 wards will have two dedicated PCs and a Police Community Support Officer by the end of next year.

Under the new plans, around 260 new ward officers will be in place across the capital by Christmas.

Mr Khan said: “As Mayor, the safety and security of all Londoners is my first priority and this starts with real neighbourhood policing.

“Today, I am very pleased to be able to announce the first significant step towards this, with a second dedicated PC in every London ward.

“Our local officers should be known both to the community and by the community.

“Their local knowledge helps to prevent and detect crime, and they are the local eyes and ears of our security services.

“They are essential to improving trust and confidence in our police and keeping our communities safe.”

The newly dedicated ward officers will be drawn from existing non-dedicated neighbourhood roles, and will be ‘ring-fenced’ from being called away to other duties.

At the moment there is just one dedicated PC and one dedicated PCSO in most wards. Around 100 of the “highest-harm” wards across the capital already have two dedicated officers.

Mr Khan campaigned for office during this year’s mayor election on promises to restore neighbourhood policing.

His predecessor, Boris Johnson, scrapped the model of one sergeant, to PCs and three PSCOs covering each ward during a reorganisation of the force in 2011.

Keith Prince, Conservative London Assembly member for Havering and Redbridge, has criticised the move, claiming it “treats every area of London as the same”.

He said: “On the face of it, the provision of an extra officer in each London borough would be welcomed – however the lack of flexibility this affords the Met poses a serious risk to the capital.

“The Mayor has not explained where these redeployed officers – who are already performing duties elsewhere – will come from and what the Met will be sacrificing as a result.

“If, as he says, the officers cannot be moved, how will the Met plan additional policing for events like major protests or festivals?

“The Mayor needs to be clearer about how the Met is supposed to adapt to this new system and perhaps think more about the possible consequences.”