Haringey to get new police commander
11:50 31 January 2013
Haringey Borough Commander Sandra Looby.
Archant
Haringey police’s borough commander is to leave after two years in the job, replaced by the Met’s lead on its controversial stop and search policy.
Haringey police's new commander, Victor Olisa.Det Ch Supt Sandra Looby will leave the role she has held since February 2011 in March, when Ch Supt Victor Olisa will take over. She is to become the OCU (Operational Command Unit) Commander at the Palace of Westminster.
Det Ch Supt Looby said the decision was taken as the Met was undergoing “a number of changes” and needed “a sustained command team” to see it through during the next stage. Her replacement, she said, would bring “a wealth of experience” to the role.
She added: “The last two years have been most challenging, and, although there is still a lot of work to be done, we are seeing the benefits of our hard work - residential burglary reduction of 262 offences to date compared to last year, a reduction of personal robberies by 358 offences and 702 less vehicle crimes. These achievements could not have happened without your support.”
Ch Supt Olisa, who began his policing career in 1982 and was awarded a PhD in Criminology by the London School of Economics in 2005, will move to Haringey from Bexley, where he has been borough commander for just 11 months.
His ethos is “I want to make people’s lives the best we can and personal safety is top of my agenda”.
But Ch Supt Olisa’s appointment has already raised eyebrows in Haringey due to his role as stop and search lead - a policy which has remained a point of tension between some parts of the community and police - and the timing, taking into consideration the up-coming Mark Duggan inquest.
Ch Supt Olisa has already suggested the latter may have been a key decider in his move.
He told a Bexley newspaper: “With all the issues around the inquest hearing of the Mark Duggan shooting, that puts Haringey in a different perspective to Bexley.
“I think it’s a vote of confidence moving me from here to head that up at such a sensitive time so I feel grateful to my staff for doing such fantastic work in nine months.
“There’s a bigger picture and a wider significance than just the borough commander leaving and I think it’s going to get more exciting from now on.”
But Haringey TUC’s Keith Flett suggested the timing of Det Ch Supt Looby seemed “odd”.
“People in Haringey may well feel uneasy about this and the Met have some explaining to do,” he added.
