Sir Sadiq Khan has been accused of failing to honour a manifesto promise to maintain a police front office counter in all 32 London boroughs. In his manifesto prior to last year’s election, the Mayor of London pledged to “ensure the Met is able to effectively respond to the public, including maintaining a 24-hour police front office counter in every borough.”
However, the Metropolitan Police have now confirmed that 18 out of 37 counters will be closed, with a single one in Wood Green in Haringey reopening – leaving just 20 open across the capital. Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist today told the London Assembly that the move will save the force £7million in its bid to fill a £260million funding gap.
He justified the closures by suggesting crime reporting at station counters has significantly reduced to just five per cent “as people have shifted to the use of phones and online means.”
How many times a day the public use front counters
Mr Twist added: “At some front counters, we see less than two and a half crimes a day reported. At the busiest, in Charing Cross, we see 15 crimes. The average is four crimes a day reported across three shifts, which are often staffed by two people.
“We’ve made deliberate choices to protect neighbourhood policing and services that matter most to Londoners. Whilst we are shrinking overall, we are changing the shape of our organisation to better serve the public and meet increasing demands for policing.
“This is about making the Met more accessible and visible in neighbourhoods at a time when the organisation is shrinking – and to do so, we need to cut the pie a bit differently. We are making the decision to reduce an underused resource to allow us to continue to strengthen neighbourhood policing teams.”
The Mayor of London was not present for the extraordinary plenary session at City Hall regarding the closures today, instead sending Deputy Mayor of London for Policing and Crime Kaya Comer-Schwartz to face questions alongside Assistant Commissioner Twist.
Conservative Assembly Member Thomas Turrell asked if it was “irresponsible” for the Mayor to have made the commitment in last year’s manifesto. Comer-Schwartz said: “The Mayor’s manifesto is clear about the importance of restoring visible neighbourhood policing and building safer, more confident communities in London. The Mayor has shown a dedication to keeping Londoners safe.”
The 14 full-time counter closures included Edmonton, Harrow, Kensington and Chingford, while four which were already operating on reduced hours will also be shut. Mr Twist said the move will also save 3,752 hours of police officer time per month. Non-specialist staff currently have to backfill front counter shifts that can’t be resourced by Public Access Officers.
‘Savings have to be made somewhere’
The Met took into account front counter demand, accessibility and geographic spread, and operational alignment to custody suites and investigative teams when deciding which ones to close. Mr Twist confirmed that Sir Sadiq’s front counter pledge, which was also included in the New Met for London plan, was broken due to a lack of funding.
“We could not have foreseen that two years ago, when New Met for London 1 was written, the scale of the gap was going to be as big as it was at the end of 2024,” he said. “Savings have to be made somewhere – this is the least worst option. Looking at the overall financial picture, which is really challenging – if we can save £7million by reducing a service for which demand has reduced significantly over the last decade, that seems like the right thing to do.”
He said Londoners will still have the option of using stations which have their front counters closed to make a phone call. Conservative leader Susan Hall accused Sir Sadiq of being a “coward” by sending his Deputy Mayor to face the London Assembly, adding: “He made a promise that he would have a 24/7 police station in every BCU, he has always said he will keep them open.”
Future of police stations in every borough raised
Later, Comer-Schwartz, who admitted she found out about the scale of the cuts “in June or July”, could not give give a guarantee every borough will retain at least one police station. Liberal Democrat Assembly Member Hina Bokhari responded: “It begs the question really, what is the point of having a deputy mayor for policing and crime if you are not going to intervene on behalf of Londoners when these massive changes are being proposed.”
Reform UK Assembly Member Alex Wilson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “Having a visible and accessible counter in each borough was a manifesto pledge – it’s a sorry situation to do this for the amount of money this will save. London is lawless – yet Sadiq Khan ’s response is to close half of London’s Met Police front desks.
“He says he hasn’t got the money to keep them open. That’s not true. He spends £1.4 billion a year on Net Zero and just £1.11 billion a year on crime. Saving these front desks would cost just 0.36 per cent of his climate budget each year.”
Conservative London Assembly Member Keith Prince told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “It’s apparent they have not thought this move through – it’s not just crime that’s reported at front counters, some see them as places of safety. The Mayor not being here underlines the contempt with which he holds the Assembly.”
A Met spokesperson said: “Just five per cent of crimes were reported using front counters last year, with only one per cent of these being made during the night. At the busiest front counter in London on average 15 crimes are reported a day – less than one an hour – and in the least busy, only 2.5 crimes are reported a day.
“Londoners tell us they want to see more officers on our streets. The decision to reduce and close some front counters will save £7million and 3,752 hours of police officer time per month allowing us to focus resources relentlessly on tackling crime and putting more officers into neighbourhoods across London.”
Met Police confirmation for police station front counters to close
1. Kentish Town (Camden)
2. Tottenham (Haringey)
3. Edmonton (Enfield) – replaced by Wood Green**
4. Harrow (Harrow)
5. Bethnal Green (Tower Hamlets)
6. Dagenham (Barking and Dagenham)
7. Chingford ( Waltham Forest )
8. Kensington (Kensington & Chelsea)
9. Hammersmith (Hammersmith & Fulham)
10. Twickenham (Richmond)
11. Lavender Hill (Wandsworth)
12. Wimbledon (Merton)
13. Hayes (Hillingdon)
14. Plumstead (Greenwich)
A further four currently reduced front counters will close.
15. Barking Learning Centre (Barking and Dagenham)
16. Church Street (Westminster)
17. Royalty Studios (Kensington and Chelsea)
18. Mitcham (Merton)
The 20 police station front desks which will remain open
- Romford
- Charing Cross
- Acton
- Brixton
- Lewisham
- Bromley
- Sutton
- Islington
- Wembley
- Colindale
- Stoke Newington
- Ilford
- Forest Gate – Stratford will remain as temporary front counter until Forest Gate reopens
- Kingston
- Hounslow
- Walworth
- Bexleyheath
- Croydon
- Wood Green – currently closed as front counter but proposed to re-open
- Pinner – is a volunteer site opening limited hours and will remain.
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