Just over 10 per cent of people in London know how to contact their local police officer.

These are the latest figures from the Metropolitan Police, which say in December 2018 only 13 per cent of people knew how to contact their local ward officer – a police officer dedicated to a specific area of London to deal with issues in the community.

In December 2015 38 per cent of people knew who their local ward officer was – nearly three times that of December 2018.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: “Policing by consent is the guiding principle for all Met officers, and it is therefore important that the Met gains the confidence and trust of people who live, work and visit the capital.

“We are working hard to better engage with communities and reduce crime, through regular neighbourhood patrols, detecting criminal activity and bringing people to justice, and proactive operations by Basic Command Unit (BCU) teams in boroughs, and specialist crime officers.

“We hold regular community drop-in meetings to keep local people informed about the policing issues that matter to them.”

The statistics also revealed that as of December 2018, 62 per cent of people think the police are doing a good job – down from 67 per cent in December 2015 and 73 per cent think the police can be relied upon compared to 77 per cent in December 2015.

As of December 2018 38 per cent of people say they feel well informed about the activities of the police over the last 12 months – this figure was 43 per cent in December 2015.