Wandsworth police front counter will be closing this December and Lavender Hill police station is relocating to a smaller facility nearby, it has been confirmed.
The Wandsworth front counter will no longer be available, but the rest of the building will be used for ‘other operational policing requirements’.
Figures show that around 0.2 crimes are being reported at the Wandsworth front counter per day and it received fewer than five visitors a day on average, according to the Met.
Following concerns raised during the public consultation, there is a current proposal to not close the current Lavender Hill front counter until its replacement is completed, and it will continue to be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with ‘experienced face-to-face contact’ where necessary,
Peter Laverick, temporary chief superintendent, said: “Very few Wandsworth residents are using the Wandsworth front counter currently.
“Most residents will be within 30 minutes’ travel time to the front counter at Lavender Hill, with others no more than 45 minutes away. Closing the front counter at Wandsworth will save the Met more than £160,000 per year, equivalent to three police officers.
“For some time, the Metropolitan Police service has been speaking to the public and asking how they want to access our services. They have told us that they need to be able to contact us in a way that is flexible and more convenient for them.
“Few people now visit a front counter with just eight percent of crime now reported there. It is clear our services need to be more accessible and enhance engagement, whilst enabling us to focus our resources where they are most needed.”
Ways in which to access police services are said to include redesigned digital services, such as through social media, enhanced telephone services so crime can be reported and initially investigated over the phone, and officers now being equipped with mobile technology to bring services to the public.
Meanwhile, Tooting police station is also being sold off and neighbourhood officers from there will also be relocated. Some Safer Neighbourhood Team officers will use the new facility at Lavendar Hill while others will be relocated to hubs within, or near to, their wards and continue their daily duties.
The police neighbourhood base at Jubilee House in Putney will remain as it is and talks are ongoing to also keep the Holybourne Avenue facility.
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