The Met Police has unveiled a new tool aimed at strengthening links between communities and their local police teams.

Met Engage, a tailored email service, is being rolled out across London to provide residents with direct updates from neighbourhood officers.

The platform will offer crime prevention advice, local event notices, incident updates, investigation progress and success stories from policing operations.

The initiative is part of the Met's renewed focus on neighbourhood policing and its wider commitment to building more trust, less crime, and higher standards.

Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: "Real progress means more than just numbers going in the right direction – it means working with communities, not just policing them.

"Met Engage is about having a two-way conversation. It's a way for people to stay informed with precise local updates, to tell us what is most important to them and to challenge misinformation."

Londoners who sign up will be asked to select their local area and the types of alerts they'd like to receive, ensuring communications are relevant and hyper-local.

Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Kaya Comer-Schwartz, added: "Neighbourhood policing is the bedrock of safer communities.

"Communication and partnership with communities is essential to the Met's efforts to cut crime and increase public confidence."

City Hall has part-funded Met Engage as part of efforts to bolster community-led policing across the capital.

Each borough – including Richmond and Twickenham – now has 500 additional staff dedicated to neighbourhood policing, including Superintendents, Sergeants, Police Constables and PCSOs according to the Met.

Officers are working closely with residents and businesses to identify key concerns, including shoplifting and anti-social behaviour, and direct resources accordingly.

While Met Engage allows users to flag concerns and stay informed, the Met reminds Londoners that it is not a crime reporting tool.

Urgent incidents must still be reported via 101 or 999, or through the Met Police website.

Find out more information and sign up for Met Engage via the Met Police website here.

We want to provide Richmond with more and more clickbait-free local news. To do that, we need a loyal newsletter following. Help us survive and sign up for our free weekly newsletter by clicking the link HERE.