Metropolitan Police commissioner Cressida Dick and officers visit Croydon city centre to speak with local residents on the recent crimes in a bid to show police presence.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said that retired police officers and volunteers could be drafted in to make up numbers if coronavirus causes staff shortages.
She added: “We need to be flexible, we are a people organisation and of course it’s likely as other people are coming into contact with the virus some of my people will as well.
“We have had plans in place for a long time to be able to move people around, to change people from one role to another, to make sure we protect the really mission-critical services.
“We have not ruled out any option in terms of boosting our numbers.
We have lots of people who volunteer with the Met, we can bring them in more, and indeed there may be some areas where it would make sense
