Great public response to PCS campaign to keep police counters open

Between 2012 and 2022, the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime closed 112 police station front counters as part of a cost-cutting drive. Yet crime data from the ONS indicates that recorded offences in London have continued to rise year on year. Theft has grown faster that other categories, increasing from an average of 45000 offences in 2018 to 53000 in 2022.

Despite crime rising and public concern mounting, the Met is ploughing ahead with plans to shut even more front counters, apparently prioritising cuts to shift disturbance allowances it pays to Public Access officers, who are PCS members, over the safety of the city.

The Met’s latest closure programme will slash access down to just 25 police stations with front counters across the whole of London, operating at reduced hours, with only two open 24/7: at Charing Cross in central London and Lewisham in south London.

This move will have a devastating impact on the safety of Londoners and visitors alike, as well as threatening the terms and conditions and even the jobs of PCS members who work as public access officers (PAOs).

If you live or work in London, please use our e-action to write to your local MP and back PCS’s call for a public consultation. We need to keep up the pressure to force a re-think. The front counters earmarked for complete closure are at: Kensington, Harrow, Wimbledon, Twickenham, Chingford, Pinner, Barking Learning Centre, Church Street, Royalty Studios, and Mitcham