Open our police station! (Southwark Liberal Democrats)

Southwark Liberal Democrats <info@southwark-libdems.org.uk>

Open our police station!

December 1, 2003 12:00 AM

Liberal Democrats have launched a campaign to get the front counter at Camberwell police station re-opened to the public and Rotherhithe as a full working police station.The move would see the front desk staffed by volunteers and has already worked successfully in other London boroughs. Southwark Liberal Democrat GLA Spokesperson, Caroline Pidgeon, has now written to the Metropolitan police asking them to consider the proposal.

The Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir John Stevens, is on the record as opposing front desk closures and supporting more community involvement in helping the police. Camberwell police station has been a much missed community facility ever since closure.

Camberwell Green Liberal Democrat Poddy Clark said: "The local Labour councillors have talked about re-opening the station for years, but nothing has happened. Using trained volunteers would make re-opening the station to the public a reality and make it much easier to report crimes and contact the police about non-emergency issues.

New CCTV cameras and street lights

Southwark's Lib Dem council has launched a mobile CCTV to respond quickly to new crime hotspots and get evidence for court action. The council is also investing £1 million in new street lights across the borough. Local residents at the borough's 8 community councils are deciding where lights should go.

Youth and street crime down

Youth crime is down a huge 41% since Liberal Democrats took control of the Council last May. Southwark's Youth Offending Team has been praised nationally for its amazing work to stop re-offending by young people. Street crime has also fallen after targeted work by the Metropolitan Police.

Help for crime victims

Simon Hughes MP recently opened a new 'Victim Focus' section at Southwark police station. As part of the drive to put victims of crime first, a single police 'phone number staffed by civilians will now be given to victims to keep them updated about progress with their case and offer advice and support.