Police chief warns that London faces 'justice by geography'

London is in danger of being split up into American-style security ghettos with rich boroughs setting up their own police forces, Scotland Yard's Deputy Commissioner warned yesterday.

Ian Blair said security in the capital could soon be divided between the rich and poor leading to "justice by geography". His comments came as the Metropolitan Police prepared to unveil details today of a radical scheme to recruit 300 civilian guards to patrol the capital's streets, creating what Mr Blair described as a "second tier of policing".

Mr Blair disclosed that at least four local authorities in London were already drawing up plans to create their own private police forces. He warned that affluent housing estates were increasingly becoming "gated communities" with their own private security arrangements and that police could not afford to employ hundreds of new constables to patrol the streets.

He said that in some American cities policing had become segregated with rich areas having their own private security. "The final nightmare is Miami where 19 per cent of the streets are not covered by the police," he said.

The Tory-run Kensington and Chelsea council plans to set up its own 120-strong force of "borough constables" at a cost of £5m to patrol the streets and deal with anti social behaviour.

If the scheme gets the go-ahead residents could pay from £50 to £120 each a year to fund the force.

Merrick Cockell, the leader of the council, said: "Residents are concerned about crime and their safety in their homes and on the streets. The reality is that there are not going to be enough police officers on the streets to satisfy public demands ... which is why we are looking at having teams of borough constables paid by the residents through the council tax."

The boroughs of Wands-worth, Sutton, and Bromley, are also interested in having their own security forces, said the Deputy Commissioner. Concern has mounted recently over a sharp rise in the level of street crime, and Mr Blair warned that there was a danger of a "Balkanisation of policing" in which the city is split into competing factions.

In response to the demand for more officers on the beat the Metropolitan Police intends to become the first force in the country to recruit and employ the civilian patrollers, to be known as Community Safety Officers.

* Police officers in Scotland voted in favour of seeking the right to strike yesterday. The Scottish Police Federation backed the move at their annual conference in Peebles over the Home Secretary's pay and conditions proposals.