WALTHAM Forest could lose around 60 police officers in the next three years due to Government cuts, the Labour party has claimed.
Leyton and Wanstead MP John Cryer said that progress made in reducing crime would be in jeopardy if the reductions, which represent 11 per cent of the borough's officers, were approved.
His comments came as his party's Waltham Forest branch launched a campaign today protesting against plans which they claim will lead to 1,800 fewer police on the streets of London overall.
Mr Cryer, along with Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy and council leader Cllr Chris Robbins, are urging residents to sign a petition demanding Conservative London Mayor Boris Johnson rethink his plans and also lobby the government not to cut police budgets.
According to the Metropolitan Police Authority, as of July 2011 there were 538 officers working in Waltham Forest, alongside 104 PCSOs and 92 special constables.
The council leadership has long maintained that the borough is lacking in police numbers. It launched a campaign in 2009 with cross-party backing demanding more officers be allocated to the area.
However the Conservatives later dropped their support and accused Labour of spending £20,000 of taxpayers' money on a “politically motivated” cause.
Mr Cryer said: “Current proposals will see 600 London police sergeants reapplying for their own jobs and 300 sergeants cut from London’s safer neighbourhood teams.
“These figures will rightly shock people on our area. No one wants to see fewer police officers on our streets, or fewer police officers working to solve serious crimes.
“Crime fell by 43 per cent under Labour, thanks in no small part to the record numbers of police officers the last Government recruited. Now this Government is throwing that progress away.”
Ms Creasy said: "When I talk to residents what's happening with police numbers is the first thing they want to know about.
“By pressing ahead with plans to slash the numbers of police despite the widespread concerns of local people about the impact this could have in fighting crime, the Government is yet again showing it’s out of touch”.
Cllr Robbins added: "The council has an excellent working relationship with its local police force, but also recognises that they are seriously under-resourced.
"The speed and scale of the government's cuts have put our local police force in an impossible position."
In June Waltham Forest Police confirmed proposals to axe five police sergeant posts from safer neighbourhood teams were being considered. But the force said all officers would be offered posts elsewhere in the borough instead.
The Guardian is awaiting a comment from Waltham Forest Police and the Mayor of London's office in response to the claims.
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