We need our police stations

My Account
Logout

Create an Evening Standard Account

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Welcome! Sign in here

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Forgot your password ?

Registration

* indicates fields that are mandatory

Email *

Password *

Confirm Password *

First name *

Surname *

Postcode *

Country *

Mobile phone number

Username *

Gender *

Year of birth *

When you sign up...

You will have access to all our online competitions, discounted offers and can post comments on our site.

You will also receive The Weekender newsletter sent every Thursday - it’s full of fantastic offers and ideas for the weekend. You can update your email preferences in your account page when you log in.

Other newsletters and emails

Homes & Property Newsletter - Yes I want to receive the weekly email with all the latest news on property in the capital

Occasionally we would also like to send you relevant emails detailing specific offers either from ourselves or carefully selected partners. If you would prefer not to receive these then please tick the appropriate boxes below. We will never pass on your details.

I do not want to receive additional offers and information from the Evening Standard

I do not want to receive additional offers and information sent by Evening Standard on behalf of carefully selected partners

Terms and Conditions

* I have read, understood and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of Evening Standard

Registration

Mail Sent for Registration Confirmation.

A confirmation email has been sent. Please activate your account by clicking on the activation link sent in your mail box.

The closure of up to 60 police stations across London is intended to save money - but it is bound to disquiet the public. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair says more than 90 per cent of public contact with the police is now by phone, so there is little value in retaining expensive-to-maintain and rarely visited buildings. Clearly much of the network was built in a different era. However, this is a very bad time for the Met to have to persuade the public that closures mean better policing.

Closures have often prompted strong local opposition. For many people, the closing of stations will confirm a perception that policing is inadequate and remote, and that - as with post offices and small local GP practices under threat - their interests are being ignored. Many of the proposed closures are in suburbs, where residents already believe they are neglected by a Met that focuses on the inner city, even though inner-city problems of drug dealing, knife crime and alcohol-related violence are spreading into London's outer areas.

There is indeed a case for more mobile stations and police "shopfronts" in supermarkets, as well as "patrol bases" on industrial estates - provided there are enough of them. But the Met is going to have to work very hard to convince the public that such places, open only during normal business hours, are an improvement on permanent stations. They will not be symbols of authority in the way dedicated stations are. And while it is true that every officer manning a station is not out on the streets, under the new arrangements someone will still have to answer the phones and do the paperwork.

The Met has not yet made a convincing case for these changes. Now Sir Ian must set out much more clearly how the closures will free up manpower to pound the beat.