Police station front counters offer the public a vital personal interaction with the service, the Metropolitan Police Federation has said.
Chair Paula Dodds was speaking after reports that the Metropolitan Police is planning to reduce the number of front counters across London from 37 to 19.
Paula said reducing the number of front counters also presented a potentially serious practical issue with how people would comply with bail conditions, or reporting a crime that has just happened in the vicinity.
She explained: “If we close police station front counters the public can’t have access to us when they need it most.
“We can’t hide behind technology because not everyone has access to technology to call the police or go online to report a crime – they want that personal interaction. The public are going to have to go further to get access to a police station if they need it out of hours.
“What happens if someone has stolen your mobile phone? You can’t call police, so the only way you can report it at the time is going to the nearest police station; by making people go home to report it online you’re losing precious investigative opportunities.
“What happens when someone has to comply with court bail conditions, where people generally have to sign on at police stations between certain times?”
The Metropolitan Police has defended its decision, saying only 5% of crimes are reported at front counters.
But Paula said front counters are used in many other ways rather than being a place to report crime.
She added: “There are other functions that front offices carry out apart from being a place to report crime: people turning up from police bail to get access to custody when they are required to; solicitors come to police stations to speak to suspects; members of the public walk in all the time for many different reasons, often using a police station as a place of safety. They don’t always go in to report a crime.
“Do we know how many members of the public attend police stations regardless of whether they are reporting a crime? That would give a truer picture of how busy they are.
“If they are only dealing with reports of crime, why do we currently have front counters staffed with two or three public access officers on busy shifts and queues coming out of the doors at peak times? It’s about having that presence in the community.
“By closing front counters we’re reducing visibility – what’s around the corner? Is it the closure of those police stations too?”
