Key information
Petition presented by: Caroline Pidgeon
Date petition submitted: Wednesday 13 March 2013
Petition presented at: London Assembly Plenary
Summary of petition
“I call upon Boris Johnson to keep our safer neighbourhood teams intact and to scrap his plans to close the police front desk at Millbank House.”
Response information
Name of person responding: Stephen Greenhalgh, Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime
Response date: Wednesday 22 April 2015
“Dear Jennette,
Regarding the petition
Thank you for your letter dated 20 March 2013 and enclosed petition presented by Caroline Pidgeon AM to the London Assembly at its plenary meeting on 13 March 2013. Further letters relating to this petition were received directly from Caroline Pidgeon AM and from Sushila Abraham, Liberal Democrat Campaigner for Berrylands Ward, they are both copied in.
The Mayor’s Office for Policing And Crime (MOPAC) has produced a Police and Crime Plan that sets out a strategy for policing and crime reduction for London over four years. It reflects the Mayor’s priorities to cut crime and boost public confidence, whilst cutting costs.
They way in which the public contact the police has changed in recent years. The vast majority of people who contact the police do so by phone and the number coming into police stations either to report a crime or for any other reason has fallen significantly in recent years. In developing our new public access promise to Londoners, we are reflecting the choices that Londoners have already made. Londoners want to reach the police on the phone, by email or on-line and want to see more officers out in the community or on the streets. Therefore the Mayor has made a clear choice to put ‘Bobbies before buildings’. Our reforms will mean the police in London will be more visible and available with more police officers out on the street where the public want to see them.
Under the Plan there will be 1,200 extra police officers working in boroughs and 2,600 more police officers in safer neighbourhoods. Within the Royal Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames police officer numbers will increase from 278 in October 2011 to 2015. There will also be an increase of 46 officers in Safer Neighbourhood Teams.
The final proposals reflect the extensive consultation which took place on the draft Police and Crime Plan during January to March, including a public meeting in Kingston which I attended along with around 45 people from the local community. In addition, written responses were received and additional stakeholder forums, focus groups and a large online survey were also conducted. Whilst proposals to close the front counter at Millbank House haven’t changed, it will remain in use as a contact point and will be open every Wednesday and Thursday evening between 19:00 and 20:00 and every Saturday afternoon between 14:00 and 15:00. A Safer Neighbourhood Inspector will continue to be based there and all Safer Neighbourhood Team in the South of the borough will start their day at Millbank House, receiving their daily briefing before moving to their respective wards. There will also be two parade sites in the North and South of the borough.
Millbank House is of course only one of the options for the public to access the police within Kingston-upon-Thames:
Front Counters
24/7 Front Counter – Kingston Police Station
Standard Front Counter – CI Tower, New Malden Police Community Centre – opening hours to be agreed locally
Contact Points – Open every Wednesday and Thursday evening between 19:00 and 20:00 and every Saturday afternoon between 14:00 and 15:00
5 Cowleaze Road
Millbank House
391-393 Hook Road
I hope this reassures you that the Mayor of London and I are committed to improving public access and police visibility.
A copy of the Police and Crime Plan can be found online here:
https://www.london.gov.uk/priorities/policing-crime/police-and-crime-pl…