Ken wants 40,000 police in London

London needs 40,000 police officers in the next five years to defeat the rising tide of crime, Ken Livingstone claims today.

He says more officers and more visible policing are the key to beating thieves and murderers.

The Mayor says he has begun using his scarce resources to fund the recruitment of 2,000 extra officers, but the Government must help him recruit the rest. Presently, the Met has 26,500 officers but the number is expected to rise to 28,000 in the next few years.

The call for a massive increase coincides with the visit of former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who will be Mr Livingstone's guest today. As mayor, Mr Giuliani slashed New York's crime rate.

Mr Livingstone will say: "There is no doubt in my mind that one of the decisive factors in this achievement was the big increase in policing numbers in New York. Police numbers were raised to 41,000. No amount of tough rhetoric is a substitute for more police on the streets. I am convinced that London - New York's sister city in so many ways - needs a high level of visible policing and law enforcement to defeat the criminals."

He says he will use his budgetary powers but added: "To make the big step up to 40,000, I need the agreement and backing of government. Today I am calling on the Home Secretary to agree with me that we should work towards a target of matching New York police numbers over the next five years."

The Mayor is troubled by the fact that there have been 26 murders in London in January, four of them firearms killings. He acknowledges that there is fear on the streets. But he welcomes the success of anti-crime initiatives so far. A two-week pilot scheme putting bus lane police on two routes, the 109 and the 159, has already led to 13 arrests.

Meanwhile, the Met's Safer Streets campaign, which includes diverting traffic officers to chase muggers, has already seen 1,536 arrests in the first week.

Met Commissioner Sir John Stevens welcome the Mayor's call for more officers. He said: "I would love an extra 10,000 officers. We could provide an immediate policing presence on the streets."