Policing in London
27th March 2008
During a debate on Policing in London, David Burrowes calls for recognition of the crucial role of local police stations and particularly highlights the need to retain Southgate Police Station which is threatened with closure.
Mr. David Burrowes (Enfield, Southgate) (Con): In the context of a police presence in our communities, does my hon. Friend recognise the crucial role of local police stations? There is concern about that in my community, not least in Southgate, where the police station is threatened with closure by a centralised asset-management strategy. Surely we should take more account of local communities, and follow the lead of our hon. Friend the Member for Henley (Mr. Johnson), who wishes to keep police stations such as Southgate open.
Mr. Ruffley: In the past 10 years, under this Government, there have been net falls across the country, including London. I think that many Londoners will be reassured if they see more police stations or police outposts than there are now, and I look forward to the time when my hon. Friend the Member for Henley is Mayor of London and can drive that policy forward.
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LATER IN THE SAME DEBATE
Mr. Burrowes: What would the hon. Gentleman’s constituents say if he were to put a question in one of his numerous surveys to them asking, “Would you rather £16.5 million of the Transport for London advertising budget be spent on promoting ourselves, or on more PCSOs and CCTV?”
Mr. Dismore: I suspect people would not like money to be spent on public relations. That is inevitable; that will always be a lower priority. However, as we explored earlier, the budget that the hon. Gentleman mentions is simply not available for such expenditure. I do not think he will get anywhere by pursuing that idea.
