Changes For Chiswick Police From June

Front counter will no longer operate for 24 hours

Changes in the way Chiswick police station operates are underway under the new local Policing Model which is expected to come into effect next month. Chiswick residents will no longer be able to speak to a police officer outside office-hours under the new plan.

Hounslow will be the only 24 hour station in the borough if a person wishes to speak to a police officer in person. Brentford Police Station is also closing as over 60 stations across London have their front counters close to the public.

Under a reorganisation of policing in the borough agreed in January the authorities decided that footfall at the front office in Chiswick suggested that this service should be reduced with alternative 'contact points' to speak to people, in places such as libraries, supermarkets and coffee shops.

There has been a 20 per cent decline in front-office visits across London in recent years.

The Chiswick sector will in future be the responsibility of Inspector John Partington and will consist of five sector teams instead of seven) with fifteen officers working shifts. The shifts will cover 7.00 am to midnight and there will be a late cover to 2.00 or 6.00 am.

There will be an increase in the number of officers with one sergeant, five officers and three PCSOs, one of which will be dedicated to community policing.

The police have said that if residents wish to speak to a police officer they can dial 101, the non emergency number and an appointment will be made to speak to them.

The Metropolitan Police are reported to have a £500 million budget gap and the closure of stations, particularly older Victorian ones, will go some way to balancing the books. They have recently announced plans to move their headquarters from New Scotland Yard to smaller premises. The Met's current stock of nearly 500 buildings costs £203m a year to run. Around 200 of the least used buildings are to be closed.

65 of London's 136 front counters are to close. Senior officers have argued that most people no longer visit a police station to report crime as more use is being made of the phone or the internet. There has been a 20 per cent fall in counter visits over the last four years. Across the whole of London, less than 50 crimes a night are now reported at front counters in police stations. It is argued that new contact points will make officers more accessible and provide a greater amount of face-to-face contact with the public. These contact points will be in places like libraries, coffee shops and supermarkets.

May 18, 2013