00:00Ten police front counters across the capital are set to close at the end of the month,
00:07with campaigners warning that the changes here in London could place some of the capital's
00:12most vulnerable residents at greater risk. Now, Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan and the Metropolitan
00:18Police had previously pledged that every borough in the capital would maintain a 24-hour front
00:26counter, but from the 3rd of March, the number operating around the clock is expected to fall
00:32to just two. Overall provision across the capital is set to drop from 37 counters to 27,
00:39with only 25 planned to operate between 10am and 10pm on weekdays, and from 9am to 7pm on weekends.
00:49The force has said the decision formed part of a series of difficult financial choices aimed at
00:55addressing a £260m funding gap and indicated that resources would instead be directed towards
01:03increasing the number of officers on London's streets. Police figures indicated that only around
01:115% of crime in the capital is reported at front counters, announcing that roughly 50,000 cases
01:19out of about a million are recorded there each year. Campaigners argued that many Londoners still rely
01:26on speaking to an officer face-to-face. Those cases could be older and disabled residents,
01:32as well as victims of domestic abuse, who may not be able to use a phone or computer because access
01:38is
01:39controlled by an abuser. Chief Commissioner Mark Rowley has said he doesn't regret recent changes
01:46made when it came to cutting numbers in the police force. This is what he had to say.
01:52I don't regret any of them and if you gave me a cheque now that bought me a thousand more
01:58police officers,
02:00I wouldn't be recreating those roles. I'd be doing something different with it because of the high priority
02:06and the workload saying our violence against women and girls teams or the need to try and reduce the abstractions
02:11from labour policing and tackle those areas. So there are things that are more important to invest in
02:15than the things that we've taken resources out of.
02:17And so how do Londoners feel about the closing of front desks around the capital?
02:23What I would say is it would really be evidence-based. So what's the stats? Are people going into centres?
02:29Are they going online? Do they feel safer to respond online? And what sort of responses the public are getting,
02:36basically? So I'd be led by them. I think they need to have their say.
02:40Yeah, I think it's really important that people get an opportunity to talk to the police face to face.
02:45If they've got a problem, the police should be the focus of the community in many ways, part of the
02:50community.
02:51And if we're closing down police stations and closing down reception areas in police stations,
02:56it just takes the police further away from the community.
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