Neighbourhood Policing

London Basic Command Unit – Neighbourhood Policing
The South East London Basic Command Unit (SE BCU) is one of the Metropolitan Police Service’s
local policing areas, covering Bexley, Greenwich and Lewisham. It forms part of the Met’s wider BCU
structure, which groups boroughs together to share resources and improve coordination across
neighbourhood policing, emergency response, investigations and safeguarding.
Bringing three boroughs under one command allows the Met to deploy officers more flexibly, share
specialist skills, and maintain consistent policing standards across South East London. It also helps ensure
that neighbourhood teams stay closely connected to local communities while benefiting from wider
operational support.
Emergency response — 24/7 teams handle urgent calls, public protection concerns and major incidents
across the three boroughs.
Partnership work — The BCU collaborates with specialist Met units, which are aligned across BCUs to
strengthen joint operations.
Criminal investigations — Detectives manage investigations into offences ranging from burglary and
robbery to more serious crimes.

Police Profiles
Trevor Lawry – SE BCU – Borough Commander

I am Trevor Lawry, South East Borough Commander for Lewisham, Greenwich and Bexley. I am immensely proud
to be the person in charge of policing these great Boroughs. I volunteered for this role as I want to work with
communities in South East London to make them a great places to live and work. As Police Officers we should
never underestimate the amount of power that the office of Constable holds. I still get concerned when I am driving
and see a Police car behind me with flashing lights, even though I know I have not done anything wrong and have
been in the Police for over 25 years. We therefore have a duty to use our powers wisely.
We police with the consent and trust of the communities we serve. I have therefore set 4 principles for the Officers
who work in South East London.
Understand that as a Police Officer your primary purpose is to prevent and detect crime. You need to do this
every day you come on duty and should be able to say how you have done this when you finish your duty.
Police with the community and not to the community. Be aware of your powers and use the least obtrusive one
with the minimal amount of force required.
Intelligence is the lifeblood of any Police service and it is your responsibility to provide intelligence on what
you see and hear. It is of no use that you hold the vital key in preventing or solving a crime if you do not share it.
Understand that perception is as important as reality. Being polite and courteous is not an expectation it is a
right. Always ask yourself “how would I feel, if my family saw this on the TV?”
I look forward to working with communities and continuing to make Lewisham a great borough.

Charlene Pavitt – SE BCU – Lewisham Superintendent

I am writing to introduce myself as the Borough
Superintendent for Lewisham, I have held this role for almost three years now. This role was created to
strengthen Neighbourhood Policing as part of the Commissioner’s Turnaround Plan and is central to delivering
the New Met for London, ensuring every London borough has dedicated senior leadership focused on
rebuilding trust and keeping communities safe.

My focus is firmly on Neighbourhood Policing. I will be working to ensure Lewisham remains a safe and
secure place to live, work and visit. I am very aware that achieving this requires strong partnership and
genuine collaboration. I will be working closely with colleagues responsible for emergency response, CID, and
public protection, but perhaps the most important part of my role will be listening to our community and
strengthening our joint approach. I am genuinely looking forward to discussing how I can continue to support
the work we do together and build on our joint achievements we have seen over the last three years.

I have now served in the MPS for 22 years in what I can say has been a varied and rewarding policing career.
I joined the Metropolitan Police Service in 2004, beginning on a response team in Brixton before moving to the
Robbery Taskforce and Safer Neighbourhoods. I later transferred to Lewisham, where I spent 9 of my 19
years in service across several roles and ranks, including Emergency Response Team, Custody,
Neighbourhood Policing, Staff Officer duties, and the Crime Prevention Unit/HQ. Returning to Lewisham feels
like coming home—I have always loved my time on the BOCU, and frontline policing has been the foundation
of my career.

Since leaving Lewisham previously, I have served as HQ Inspector at AW (Central West Command Unit), and
later as ERT Chief Inspector at CE (Central East Command Unit) for two and a half years. I then moved to HR
as a career development lead before taking up my current Superintendent role. I am passionate about
supporting and developing others and ensuring fairness and opportunity across our organisation. I am a
Bronze Public Order Commander with experience across major events including Ceremonials, Notting Hill

Carnival, protest, public disorder, and football. I was part of the command teams for the Queen’s Platinum
Jubilee, the State Funeral, and the King’s Coronation.

Outside of work, I am a single Mum who loves spending time with my son—at least while he still enjoys being
seen with me! I coach a local Under‐15s football team and have recently joined a netball league, quite an
experience as I haven’t played since secondary school. I enjoy running, coaching, and keeping active,
although I’m equally happy with a great TV series and a large bar of chocolate—it’s all about balance.