At today’s meeting of the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime it was confirmed that the Metropolitan Police is starting to feel the effects of a 20% cut in funding from central government. New Scotland Yard will be sold off, 891 Police Community Support Officers will be lost and up to 65 police stations will go to be replaced with "contact points".
Last week it was revealed that the Mayor might not be able to keep his election promise to have 1,000 more police officers in London than when he took office. The Mayor wrote to the Metropolitan Police asking them to come up with their final proposals for cutting £148million next year from their budget. In the same letter the Mayor said he would consider options that would mean missing his target to have 1,000 more police officers in London.
The letter, which was sent to the deputy mayor for Policing and Crime, Stephen Greenhalgh – who heads up the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime – states that the Mayor does not expect a better settlement from central government in the Autumn Statement and Local Government Finance settlement which are both due in December.
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) stated that the government could cut the policing budget by 12% and not hit front line services, the government have cut the policing budget by 20%.
Labour’s City Hall Police and Crime spokesperson Joanne McCartney said:
"The Met Police are in dire financial straits because the government are cutting the police budget too far and too fast. We have already lost 1,444 police officers and 1,960 PCSOs in London since May 2010, with the cuts now starting to bite even deeper we will undoubtedly lose even more. The Met has also lost over a 1,000 civilian staff meaning that police officers are having to cover back office roles rather than being on the beat.
"Today the Met also announced that 65 police stations could be closed and replaced with ‘contact points’ – it is unclear whether these will be stations, front counters or a stall in a supermarket for a couple of hours a week. This is not adequate and Londoners deserve a better level of service. The Mayor has failed to get a good deal for Londoners from government and we are now seeing the impact of cuts on our front line services. They are cutting too far and too fast, they need to urgently re-think their plans."
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