As mayor I’ll reopen 38 police stations to boost public safety, says Shaun Bailey
Shaun Bailey today pledged to reopen 38 police stations closed since 2016 to boost public safety and confidence if he is elected mayor of London.
The Tory candidate, pictured, insisted the pledge, which will be in his manifesto, could be achieved by the end of his first term in office.
He argued police station visibility is a “central plank of a safe city, as it makes reporting crime and engaging with the police much easier”.
Mr Bailey, who is challenging Mayor Sadiq Khan in May’s election, claims £15.4 million saved at a “bloated” City Hall could be spent on ensuring a minimum of two police stations per borough, with some having more.
He said: “I was a youth worker for more than 20 years.
“I know the streets, I know how they operate and I know how to tackle crime. A strong local police presence changes the culture, it makes it harder for criminals to operate and leads to better police-community relations — all good things.”
Liberal Democrat candidate Siobhan Benita has also vowed to reopen police stations shut by Mr Khan.
“We must get back to a model of community policing that works,” she said.
In November 2017, Mr Khan blamed government cuts for the decision to close at least 37 out of 73 police stations to make £8 million in savings.
The move was criticised by crime victims including local councillor and university lecturer Paul Kohler, 60, who was attacked by four men who stormed his six-bedroom Wimbledon home and beat him in front of his terrified wife in 2014.
He says he survived because police officers were able to get to his house from the local station within eight minutes of the 999 call.
High Court judges ruled in July 2018 that plans to shut Wimbledon police station should be reconsidered.
The Tories claim despite 29 of the stations closed by Mr Khan being earmarked for disposal, only three have either been sold or had their leases ended.
Dozens remain in the Met estate but are not open to the public to report crimes, according to Mr Bailey.
Labour have said Mr Khan has kept a 24/7 policing front counter in every borough and more police stations were closed under Boris Johnson as the previous mayor.
A spokesman for London Labour called Mr Bailey’s criticism of police station closures “staggering hypocrisy” from a “man who implemented massive cuts to the Met as crime and youth adviser in No 10”.
They said: “Sadiq has had to take difficult decisions in order to protect frontline officers.”
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