A controversial merger of police units in south-east London has “brought challenges” in its first few months of operation.

The new Basic Command Units were rolled out across London in November, bringing together single police units into joint operations for two or three boroughs.

The decision to merge units comes as Scotland Yard looks to save £325m by 2021/2022.

The new system quickly came under fire by critics claiming it will overuse the already stretched resources of police.

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According to a new council report, Bexley’s merger with Greenwich and Lewisham brought challenges.

“As the new model has only been operational for close to five months, it may be considered too soon to judge the impact”, the report explained.

“An early view is that the new model has clearly brought some challenges – particularly during the transition period, when resources were substantially stretched.

“However, some benefits have also been identified, including a more collaborative approach with the other two boroughs on criminal intelligence sharing and improved joint working.”

The BCU has been operating since November, meaning police are deployed across three boroughs depending on threat, risk or harm to th public.

Bexley has since benefited from new departments focussing on serious violence, which is shooting up.

The Trilogy and Trilogy Plus departments combat gangs and knife crime and were not previously operating in the borough.

New stats show that, despite not being a “gang borough”, serious violence is on the up in Bexley.

Councillors will hear an update on the BCU at a meeting on Wednesday, April 3.