00:00The Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, told a session of the London Assembly on Thursday that the force is
00:08resetting how it polices events and protests in the capital.
00:12He said previously, some have been policed based more on tradition than on risk and threat.
00:19He said this will allow more resources in local communities and in October freed up to 6,000 shifts.
00:26But he warned members that sometimes events in the centre of London will happen in a way that wasn't anticipated
00:33and will take longer to squash and deal with.
00:37Sir Mark started by discussing the force's stretch on resources as operational scenarios get more challenging and financial pressure.
00:46He then went on to say one of the decisions they're taking this year because of these challenges is resetting
00:54how they police events and protests in the capital.
00:59He said there is some policing of major events, particularly around Westminster, but not just there that are based more
01:08on tradition than on risk and on threat.
01:11And also the pressure that nothing goes wrong whatsoever tends to lead to an expectation that you'll put what he
01:19described as just-in-case resourcing on top of what might make sense based on a recent anticipation of the
01:28event.
