POLICING around the borough will have to remain “flexible” in the face of enforced budget cuts, according to the top police chief.

Barnet borough Commander Neil Basu announced to a forum of residents last night that the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) is preparing to make some difficult decision following the results of the ConDem government's spending review last week.

Cut backs could be made to some Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNT) in areas where crime is lower and the contracts for front counters would be reviewed with the prospect of closing several of them.

Chief Superintendent Basu said residents should not fear the inevitable cuts, and despite the likelihood the force will shrink in size, the priority will remain on keeping residents safe.

Speaking at the Barnet Community Safety Engagement Group meeting, in Avenue House, Finchley, he said police had been planning for the cuts for up to a year, but said he would have to wait until December before it became clear what the specific reductions are for the region.

He said: “The actual magnitude of the savings we have got to make is not clear because, despite the announcement of what the percentage cuts will be, we don't know what the percentage cuts will be for specific forces including the MPS, so therefore I don't know what I will get for Barnet.

“The shear scale of the cuts has got back to our staff and the MPS will shrink in size. But we are doing everything to save jobs.

“I am not going to stress about what I can't control, but I will focus on what I can do with what I have got.”

Mr Basu said he was committed to keeping an SNT in each of the borough's wards, but claimed with one sergeant, two PC's and six police community support officers, the teams were bigger than most in London.

He insisted the SNTs are “absolutely the jewel in the crown of policing in London” and any redistribution of officers would only be to ensure they were in areas with highest crime figures.

He said: “To go away from from safer neighbourhood model now would be a complete mistake. It is not a mistake the Metropolitan police is likely to make. It is about how we can keep that model going while providing the public with the service it requires.

“Barnet has the problem that we have always had extra resources and that's why I worry we can't sustain that. We have to change the way we police with other boroughs, across ward boundaries and being flexible, but there will still be a dedicated team committed to the ward they are in.”

Mr Basu, who took over as borough commander in June last year, has said he will not enter into debates about officer and staff numbers, and would maintain the focus on the results of their work.

He said the force is looking at changing shift patterns, increasing single patrols, and reducing bureaucracy to get people out of the office.

“What we need to do is make sure police officers are doing the jobs that influence crime and disorder,” Mr Basu added “What the public wants is more fully equipped, fully active, police officers out on the streets at a time which makes most sense.

“Every law abiding member of the public would love to see an officer on the corner of every street. But how we use what we have is how we should be judged.

“We have to prove we are reducing crime and disorder. Any argument about resources is not an argument for the public, it is about me doing my job.”