The UK’s biggest trade union has hit out at plans by the Metropolitan Police to close police station front desks, saying the move will “undoubtedly lead to more crime”.
Met Police announced plans in July to close half its front desks in a desperate attempt to balance a £260 million budget shortfall, sparking “anger and horror” among residents.
Leaked plans show only eight front desks will remain open 24/7, and there will also be reduced hours at 11, with them closing at 10pm weekdays and 7pm weekends.
Sadiq Khan has sparked fury after admitting he's known since last year of plans.
If the number of counters is reduced from 37 to 19, it will break Scotland Yard’s pledge to have one accessible 24 hours a day in each of the capital’s 32 boroughs.
Unite the union has condemned the decision to push through the cuts without consultation, saying it is “completely unacceptable” and “incredibly short-sighted”.
"The plans to close so many police station front desks is an incredibly short-sighted decision by the Metropolitan Police, which will undoubtedly lead to more crime, higher levels of crimes being unreported and increased staff stress,” Unite’s general secretary Sharon Graham said.
“The fact it is forcing such serious cuts through without any consultation with Unite is completely unacceptable.
“Unite will fight these savage cuts to services every step of the way to protect our hardworking members as well as the general public who will also suffer from this decision."
Unite warns that the move could result in over 100 police staff losing their jobs, and argues it will likely lead to a rise in crime across London by reducing the options available for victims to report incidents.
The union also highlighted that police front desks are already severely understaffed, with officers frequently being pulled from their duties to cover the shortfall.
The Met Police has said just five per cent of crimes were reported using front counters last year, with the vast majority of Londoners doing it over the phone, online or in person with officers elsewhere.
However, Unite argues there are “several problems” with this, warning that closing front desks will significantly increase call volumes, placing added strain on already overstretched call handlers.
The union also cautions that it could lead to long delays in reporting crimes, potentially discouraging victims from coming forward or preventing them from receiving timely support.
Unite also warns many elderly people, disabled people and those who don’t speak English as their first language rely on police front counters to report crimes, as they often find it easier to talk to someone in person rather than completing an online form.
One police station front desk worker said: "The massive increase of calls to 101 and 999 that these front desk closures will cause will lead to even higher levels of stress in an already highly stressful job. This will have a massive effect on the quality and quantity of the calls taken.
"People will just not report crimes as they have no means to. This will make the street of London even more dangerous than they already are - more cuts equals more crime."
The Met Police are disputing that the closure of the desks is going to significantly increase call volumes or place call handlers under more stress or there will be an increase in crime and unreported crime.
A Met spokesperson said: “Just 5% of crimes were reported using front counters last year, with only 1% of these being made during the night. At the busiest front counter in London on average 15 crimes are reported a day – less than one an hour - and in the least busy, only 2.5 crimes are reported a day.
“Londoners tell us they want to see more officers on our streets. The decision to reduce and close some front counters will save £7million and 3,752 hours of police officer time per month allowing us to focus resources relentlessly on tackling crime and putting more officers into neighbourhoods across London.”
The Yard has previously said it is focused on modernising services and putting more officers on the frontline as “our budget and size shrinks”.
Unite regional officer Keith Henderson said: "This decision is completely unworkable and won't even save the Met Police that much money in the long run - in fact, it runs a high risk of costing the force more as it will lead to crimes not being reported and increased incidents as well as staff potentially going off sick due to stress.
"If the Met can get away with such a dramatic cut without proper negotiation then there's many even more serious cuts they could do further down the line.
"Unite will not take this lying down. Management must come and work with Unite to find a way forward that will save jobs, protect the general public and reduce crime levels, not increase them."
Unite will be staging protests outside of police stations, while also targeting local MPs to take action and oppose the proposed closures, it said.
