The Enforcement Overview and Scrutiny Subcommittee of Wandsworth Council held its inaugural meeting on Monday 5 October 2026. The meeting focused on establishing the committee's remit and discussing significant proposals for enhancing community safety and enforcement within the borough. Key decisions included the pre-decision scrutiny of a proposal to invest in 25 dedicated Metropolitan Police officers and the development of an Integrated Enforcement Team, alongside discussions on the council's spending review and future work programme.

Investing in a Dedicated Policing Team

A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to the proposal to invest in 25 dedicated Metropolitan Police officers for Wandsworth, alongside the creation of an Integrated Enforcement Team (IET). This initiative, detailed in Paper No. 26-243¹, aims to increase visible policing and create a more coordinated, intelligence-led approach to tackling crime and anti-social behaviour.

The proposal includes funding for 22 Police Constables and 3 Sergeants, who will be deployed under the Council's tactical direction, working alongside existing council enforcement services and the new IET. The estimated cost for the first year is £3.1 million, with potential for extension. The IET will combine police and council powers, aiming for a visible, intelligence-led, and community-focused service.

Councillors expressed general support for the investment, with questions focusing on how improvements would be tracked, the legality and source of funding (specifically mentioning Section 92² agreements and Neighbourhood CIL³ receipts), and the integration of these new officers with existing Safe Neighbourhood Teams. Concerns were raised about potential disproportionality in policing and the need for robust key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure impact. The Cabinet Member for Enforcement, Councillor [Name withheld], emphasised that this initiative aligns with the administration's manifesto pledge to invest in policing and address residents' concerns about crime. Officers confirmed that the funding would be primarily from Neighbourhood CIL receipts, with a legal basis for its use in law enforcement.

Discussions also touched upon the previous Balham Wardens pilot scheme, with officers noting its limited tangible enforcement outcomes, contrasting it with the broader powers and scope of the proposed IET. The co-location of the new police officers within the town hall campus was also discussed, with officers confirming they would remain under Metropolitan Police command and terms of employment, but their day-to-day tasking would be managed collaboratively.

Spending Review

The committee also reviewed elements of the council's spending review relevant to its remit, as outlined in Paper No. 26-244⁴. This included the proposed investment in community safety, strengthening local enforcement, protecting work on violence against women and girls, better use of technology and CCTV, and enhanced fly-tip enforcement.

Councillor Graham Henderson, Opposition Spokesperson on Enforcement and Community Safety, noted that the spending review document did not explicitly mention Section 92 or CIL funding for the police, which he felt added to the confusion around the financing of the dedicated policing team. Councillor Apps raised concerns about the phrasing of strengthening local enforcement to focus on issues residents raise most, questioning whether this adequately addressed more serious issues that might not be frequently reported. The committee also discussed the importance of targeting resources for violence against women and girls effectively, with a representative from Public Protection confirming a focus on prevention and the continued provision of Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA) services.

Work Programme

The subcommittee discussed its future work programme, as detailed in Paper No. 26-245⁵. As this was the first meeting, the focus was on establishing an approach to developing the programme, including the potential for informal work programming sessions and the establishment of Task and Finish Groups⁶ for in-depth scrutiny. Councillors Henderson and Apps suggested that a Task and Finish Group would be beneficial for further examining the dedicated policing team proposal and other related issues. The Chair proposed an informal session to develop the work programme collaboratively with officers.

Council's Plans to Extend CCTV Coverage

A discussion item, requested by members, focused on the council's plans to extend CCTV coverage across the borough. Councillor Henderson highlighted the success of temporary CCTV in reducing fly-tipping on Ancaster Road and expressed interest in hearing more details about the use of new technologies, such as AI, to improve CCTV effectiveness. The potential for body cameras for the Integrated Enforcement Team and the use of CCTV vans were also mentioned.

Concerns were raised about the age of existing cameras and the need for modernisation, as well as the staffing of the Joint Control Room. Officers acknowledged the need for a CCTV strategy and committed to exploring the age and condition of cameras, with a more solidified plan to be presented to the committee in the future. The use of personal technology and the safeguarding of privacy and human rights were also discussed, with an emphasis on the need for clear guidance and the correct balance between encouraging lawfulness and protecting rights. The issue of capacity to act on intelligence gathered from CCTV was also raised, with officers acknowledging that while the CCTV network itself has capacity, improving the intelligence-led aspect of enforcement is a key area for development.