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WALTHAM FOREST: Departing police chief reflects on “rewarding” four years (From Haringey Independent)
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WALTHAM FOREST: Departing police chief reflects on “rewarding” four years
12:23pm Wednesday 18th November 2009
POLICE borough commander Chief Supt Mark Benbow has confirmed he is leaving the Met Police after 30 years in the service. He spoke to CARL BROWN about his time in Waltham Forest.
BROUGHT up in east London, Mark Benbow became the top police officer in Waltham Forest in January 2006, after a career in the Met serving in Hackney, Greenwich and Tower Hamlets.
Waltham Forest is a complex policing environment for us, it is very challenging
Chief Supt Mark Benbow
He has had to deal with a large anti-terrorism operation, young people falling victim to knife crime and the biggest manhunt in the borough’s history for the serial rapist who murdered Michelle Samaraweera.
“It has been rewarding but hard,” the 48-year-old admitted.
“Waltham Forest is a complex policing environment for us, it is very challenging.”
Chief Supt Benbow cited a decrease in personal robbery and this year's Beacon Award for improving community cohesion as successes under his watch.
He also said he was pleased by the way the police handled the dispute over the running of Lea Bridge Road mosque.
Factions enaged in a power struggle clashed outside the mosque in February and officers were called in when the row threatened to spill over into violence.
Chief Supt Benbow took a personal role in mediating between the two groups and a legitimate ruling committee has now been selected.
He said: “The handling of the mosque row was our biggest single achievement because it could have escalated.
“That mosque is large and needs to be a leading mosque nationally.”
Chief Supt Benbow said policing in Waltham Forest is largely the same as elsewhere, but said the community is more cohesive than some boroughs.
He added: “I don't think there is a Waltham Forest spirit as such but there is a neighbourhood spirit.
“I do think people of different races and creeds rub along here, our racial crime is particularly low and so far there has been little evidence of far-right activity.
“It could have been a lot worse after the terror raids, considering 13 out of 24 arrested were charged.”
He insists the borough's police face difficulties caused by a disproportionate lack of resources.
He said: “We are classed as outer London yet south of the A406 in Waltham Forest is as busy as Hackney, Newham or anywhere else in London.
“It is always a struggle, our response times are still quite low, but have been improving.”
He has no regrets about his time in Waltham Forest but said, if he had his time again, he would have launched the youth engagement team, which aims to tackle gang culture, much earlier than this year.
“I wish I had been a bit bolder and followed my instincts as we are really getting to know the youngsters in the south of the borough now,” he said.
Mr Benbow leaves Waltham Forest on December 10 and will take up a position as assistant director of community safety at Camden Council in the new year.
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Your Say YourHaringey
mdj, e10 says...
7:03pm Thu 19 Nov 09
If a policeman claimed that his chief achievement was sorting out a parish council dispute, we'd rightly fall about laughing: there's often been a sense that Cmdr Benbow (full pension at 48; wow!) has a bias more towards the PR side than the unglamorous steady digging that most law enforcement consists of.
Worst example was his making available 8 officers in stab vests to help the Council leader kick down the door of an inoffensive takeaway (with TV cameras present, of course), in the same week that an unsupported street officer was murdered by a hit-and-run gang.
Mark Benbow
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Techno2, Walthamstow says...
11:33am Thu 19 Nov 09
To be honest, I do not think that Mr Benbow's tenure of this important role has been a great success. His failure to control gang activity was evident to us all, while organised crime has been openly conducted in the High Street in Walthamstow and other parts of the borough with apparent impunity for most of the four years he has been 'in charge'.
The manhunt for the person who murdered Michelle Samaraweera has not succeeded, despite the publicity seeking at the time nor have his efforts in regard to Melita Jo's murderer paid off. This in itself does not make his tenure mediocre, as such crimes are hard to solve, but there are a number of other serious matters conveniently forgotten in the last year or so, including a number of apparently unsolved armed raids on businesses and even an attempt to rob Blackhorse Road tube station.
The Commander has also been far too close to the Labour members of the discredited local authority administration. Seeing his backslapping with such an administration has been nauseous for many people, giving the hopefully false impression that he was not concerned about the allegations of fraud and corruption which are still unresolved regarding some elements in the council. The position at Camden does not allay these suspicions that he was a political operator most comfortable with the Labour party as much as being a cop.
No, Commander Benbow's time here has not been as good as it could have been, sadly. Let's hope his replacement gets a better grip on crime.