Politicians have reacted to claims neighbourhood police officer numbers could be reduced across London, as the Metropolitan Police seeks to make cuts of £48m, while the Mayor of London’s office has denied frontline officers will be affected.
The Surrey Comet reported earlier this summer that police were contemplating reducing safer neighbourhood teams across the capital by 100 officers in the next three years, after the information was wrongly included in Kingston police minutes.
Last week the deputy Met commissioner for policing, Tim Godwin, refused to rule out cutting police numbers and closing police stations as the budget became “more difficult”, under questioning from London Assembly members.
Edward Davey, Liberal Democrat MP for Kingston and Surbiton, said: “Mayor Boris Johnson promised to tackle crime properly. Most people would have assumed that meant the Conservative Mayor would guarantee not to cut police.”
He said it was hard to imagine the cuts could be done to assure this happens.
A spokesman for the Mayor’s office said “civilisation” of some police posts would help save money but denied frontline posts would be affected. She said: “We are not looking at cutting frontline officers at all.”
Kingston’s Tory leader Councillor Howard Jones said: “It is concerning. I hope it is a case of he hasn’t done the budget yet.”
Asked how he would feel if the number of neighbourhood police officers in Kingston were cut, he said: “I would be very unhappy. There is always room to make savings - get rid of some of the civilian staff in the station and get more police out on the street.”
Zac Goldsmith, the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Richmond and north Kingston, blamed the Government for the cut.
He said: “The police budget should be seen as an investment.
“It deters would-be criminals and prevents much higher spending on courts and prisons further down the line. I urge the Government to see if efficiency savings can be found elsewhere in government back offices. We need policemen, not pen pushers.”
Surrey Police recently announced they were cutting 48 frontline posts.
Kingston has the equivalent of 298 police officers, 62 police staff and 88 PCSOs, according to the Metropolitan Police authority - the lowest staffing in London.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here