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Project Servator goes live across whole of London

Project Servator is now operating across the entirety of London, helping police to better deter, detect and disrupt terrorism in the capital. Having been in operation in the Square Mile since 2014, the Metropolitan Police is launching a number of additional teams so that the whole of London, including London City Airport and Heathrow Airport, will be covered. The teams will work alongside the City of London Police, British Transport Police (BTP) and the Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) to carry out deployments across the capital, including busy areas such as shopping centres, tourist attractions and transport hubs. Since being launched by the Met in 2016, officers have gathered over 500 pieces of intelligence about suspected criminal activity and conducted more than 550 searches. This has led to 176 arrests, although the majority of these are for criminal, rather than terrorist, activity. Project Servator deployments can happen anywhere and at any time, and provokes the stationing of both highly visible and covert police officers in areas of concern. Superintendent Nick Aldworth, head of the Met Police’s Project Servator teams, said: “Working with the community is a vital part of making Project Servator a success, and record numbers of people have been contacting the police to report suspicious activity. Every day, Project Servator officers will enlist the help of businesses, security staff, community groups and members of the public to be vigilant and make it even harder for criminals, including terrorists, to succeed. By being vigilant, we can all create a hostile environment for potential terrorists who may be considering their targets and for individuals looking to commit crime. “The public shouldn’t be worried if a deployment happens in their area. In fact, I encourage anyone to talk to the officers to find out more. The public can help keep their community safe from terrorism by reporting anything that seems out of place, unusual, or doesn’t seem to fit with day-to-day life.”

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