Half of London police stations to shut

Nearly half of London’s police stations face the axe under Scotland Yard plans revealed today.

More than 60 would close in a bid to help plug the Met’s £500 million budget gap. Boroughs would each be left with just one station manned 24 hours a day under the radical proposals.

The number of 24-hour stations would fall from 64 to 33, part-time stations from 52 to 33 and volunteer-manned stations from 17 to five.

However, there would be a massive expansion of more than 200 contact points in supermarkets, libraries and even coffee shops — where the

public could report crime at certain times. Senior City Hall aides said the Met’s plan had not been signed off by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, which still has to review the proposals and hold a public consultation before a final decision in the new year.

Mayor Boris Johnson will come under pressure to save some stations amid fears that victims would find it harder to report serious crimes.

Large boroughs with high crime rates — including Lambeth, Haringey, Southwark, Hackney and Ealing — will all go from three 24-hour stations to one.

And thousands of Londoners face travelling long distances to report crimes, especially in outer boroughs.

Senior officers argue that many of the stations are Victorian and out of date, while few people now actually visit one to report crime — preferring to use the phone or the internet.

They say there has been a 20 per cent fall in front counter visits over four years and the stations earmarked for closure are the least used in London.

They argue that the new contact points will be more “accessible and appropriate” for local communities and increase their “face-to-face” contact with the public.

The plans are part of a savage cost-cutting Met exercise to save £500 million from its annual £3.6 billion budget over the next three years to meet Government spending targets. The force has already announced plans to sell its New Scotland Yard HQ and move to a smaller centre.

Mr Johnson has pledged “at least” one 24-hour police station in each borough, though this was felt to be a minimum.

Joanne McCartney, Labour’s policing spokesman in London, said: “The Mayor told us there would be a full public consultation on police station and front counter closures.

“It now appears they have already decided what is to be closed before they have spoken to the public and heard from the local communities affected. These planned closures will leave large gaps across the capital, making it much more difficult for Londoners to report crimes.” The Met said: “Our wider plans will allow us to visit more victims of crime, thus reducing the need in many cases for them to come to us. However, no final decisions have been taken and we are continuing consultation.”

A spokesman for Mr Johnson said a decision will be taken next March.