First ever mounted branch officer briefing

More than 30 mounted branch officers and their horses from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) assembled for their first ever street briefing in central London today.

The 32 officers assembled in Trafalgar Square ahead of their patrols in support of Operation Trafalgar as the MPS continues its largest ever crackdown on crime and anti-social behaviour in the West End.

As part of the Westminster police initiative, Operation Trafalgar was launched in March to make the West End more safe, secure and enjoyable.

It is hoped the presence of Mounted Branch will help the existing Operation Trafalgar team in its efforts to help the public feel safe and confident in the police while reducing crime and disorder.

The team will be joining up to 400 extra officers deployed into the West End over the weekend adding to the 100 officers who usually patrol on each of those nights in Westminster.

Detective Chief Superintendent Paul Rickett, gold commander for Operation Trafalgar, said: “As the new chief superintendent for Westminster, the safety and security of the West End is a top priority. This is part of the commissioner’s total war on crime and my role is to make the West End a hostile environment for criminals and an enjoyable one for law abiding citizens.

“The MPS will be working closely with all partners including Westminster City Council as well as the residential and business communities to change and improve the whole look and feel of the night time economy.”

Oxford Circus, Leicester Square, Covent Garden, Soho and Piccadilly are some of hotspots that are expected to benefit from the highly visible presence of Mounted Branch officers and horses.

As part of the major operation, which has already achieved significant reductions in street-crime in the West End with arrests for robbery and drug offences, hundreds of extra officers will continue to be drafted in on the busiest nights of the week for the foreseeable future.