Cllr Tim Briggs, Conservative Councillor, Lambeth CouncilLondon, United Kingdom
Dec 8, 2017
Dear Petitioner,
On behalf of the Mayor of London, we would like to thank you for your petition. The closures you refer to were part of a broader set of proposals intended to save an additional £8 million – equivalent to the cost of 140 police constables –to protect and support frontline policing as much as possible.
As you are probably already aware, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) have now published the final Public Access Strategy, which can be accessed here. The measures set out in this Strategy are part of our plan to do everything possible to protect front line policing and keep London safe at a time of unprecedented pressure on the MPS’s budget.
Since 2010, the Met’s budget has been reduced by £600 million. A further £400 million of savings have to be found by 2021 and unless the Government’s funding cuts stop now, officer numbers could fall below 27,500 by then – the lowest number in nearly 20 years.
Just eight per cent of crimes were reported at police front counters in 2016, down from 22 per cent in 2006, and this number continues to fall. Every pound that is spent keeping a police station open is a pound that would otherwise need to be found from further cuts to police officer numbers.
In Lambeth specifically, as per original proposals, the 24/7 front counter will remain at Brixton. The front counters at Streatham and Kennington will be closed this month (December).
The existing Safer Neighbourhood Bases will also be closed and we are identifying other new Dedicated Ward Officer (DWO) Hubs across the borough from which local officers can deploy. This decision will bring officers closer to communities. In line with our commitment to increasing DWO numbers, it is essential that these officers are based as near to the communities they serve as possible, so that they spend as much time as possible in their patch, building relations with residents and tackling the crime and antisocial behaviour problems that concern their communities most. We are working on a general rule that DWOs should begin their shift no more than 20 minutes walking time away from the ward they patrol, with many much closer.
The Strategy states that in general, and unless the lease costs are prohibitive or suitable alternative accommodation can be found without overly impacting on travel times, Safer Neighbourhood Bases or other buildings from which neighbourhood teams deploy, will not close before the relevant DWO Hubs have opened.
We acknowledge the concerns you have raised via this petition. However, given the favourable operational reasons for maintaining Brixton police station, the proposal remains to close these police buildings. It is important that the community is also aware that the Met have confirmed that while the front counter at Streatham police station will be closed from this month (December 2017) - in order to reduce running costs - the building will retain a police presence until 2024.
Yours sincerely,
Public Liaison Officer
Greater London Authority
On behalf of the Mayor of London, we would like to thank you for your petition. The closures you refer to were part of a broader set of proposals intended to save an additional £8 million – equivalent to the cost of 140 police constables –to protect and support frontline policing as much as possible.
As you are probably already aware, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) have now published the final Public Access Strategy, which can be accessed here. The measures set out in this Strategy are part of our plan to do everything possible to protect front line policing and keep London safe at a time of unprecedented pressure on the MPS’s budget.
Since 2010, the Met’s budget has been reduced by £600 million. A further £400 million of savings have to be found by 2021 and unless the Government’s funding cuts stop now, officer numbers could fall below 27,500 by then – the lowest number in nearly 20 years.
Just eight per cent of crimes were reported at police front counters in 2016, down from 22 per cent in 2006, and this number continues to fall. Every pound that is spent keeping a police station open is a pound that would otherwise need to be found from further cuts to police officer numbers.
In Lambeth specifically, as per original proposals, the 24/7 front counter will remain at Brixton. The front counters at Streatham and Kennington will be closed this month (December).
The existing Safer Neighbourhood Bases will also be closed and we are identifying other new Dedicated Ward Officer (DWO) Hubs across the borough from which local officers can deploy. This decision will bring officers closer to communities. In line with our commitment to increasing DWO numbers, it is essential that these officers are based as near to the communities they serve as possible, so that they spend as much time as possible in their patch, building relations with residents and tackling the crime and antisocial behaviour problems that concern their communities most. We are working on a general rule that DWOs should begin their shift no more than 20 minutes walking time away from the ward they patrol, with many much closer.
The Strategy states that in general, and unless the lease costs are prohibitive or suitable alternative accommodation can be found without overly impacting on travel times, Safer Neighbourhood Bases or other buildings from which neighbourhood teams deploy, will not close before the relevant DWO Hubs have opened.
We acknowledge the concerns you have raised via this petition. However, given the favourable operational reasons for maintaining Brixton police station, the proposal remains to close these police buildings. It is important that the community is also aware that the Met have confirmed that while the front counter at Streatham police station will be closed from this month (December 2017) - in order to reduce running costs - the building will retain a police presence until 2024.
Yours sincerely,
Public Liaison Officer
Greater London Authority
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