"London will be left with just two police stations with front counters operating 24 hours a day, as ten more are set to close under cost-cutting measures - breaking a pledge made by the Metropolitan Police and the mayor of London. The number of front counters where the public can speak to officers will drop from 37 to 27, and be staffed between10:00 to 22:00 on weekdays and 09:00 to 19:00 on weekends."
"The force said it needed to make 260m worth of savings by reducing services and cutting about 1,700 officer and staff roles. Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said: "The Met is having to shrink to live within its means and, as the public would expect, we are targeting our resources on a narrower set of their priorities to make London safer.""
The Metropolitan Police will close ten more front counters, reducing publicly accessible counters from 37 to 27 and limiting opening hours to 10:00–22:00 weekdays and 09:00–19:00 weekends. Only Lewisham and Charing Cross will remain open 24 hours; ten officers at Charing Cross are under investigation by the police watchdog. The force said the measure will save 7m while it must make about 260m in savings and cut roughly 1,700 roles by reducing services. Approximately 5% of crime is reported at front counters, around 50,000 of one million reported crimes annually. Staff and victim groups warn of risks to those needing face-to-face contact. The mayor had pledged a 24-hour counter in each borough and said he resisted closures.
Read at www.bbc.com
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