Up to 100 police stations set to close in cutbacks

Dozens of police stations are to be shut in a bid to save millions of pounds in maintenance and rebuilding costs.

The move will see the closure and sale of many traditional "blue light" buildings, many of which are located in the heart of London and are worth millions as potential residential developments.

Instead police "kiosks" will be sited in supermarkets, shops and offices in a radical initiative which will change the face of policing.

As many as 100 traditional police stations will shut over the next 10 years under the strategy being unveiled by Scotland Yard today.

Police estimate that they need to renew 60 per cent of their buildings within 10 years.

Mobile response cars will operate from secure "patrol bases" located in warehouses or on industrial estates. Specialist squads and units which do not need to operate from a police facility will move into ordinary office accommodation.

The strategy is aimed at averting a crisis in the Met's ageing £1.5 billion estate of 600 buildings, 30 per cent of which were built before the Thirties.

The present buildings need an annual upkeep of £75 million and have a maintenance backlog estimated at £82 million, a figure which doubles every two years.

In future police want offices and counters in more accessible locations, such as shops and offices.

One pilot project involving a police office has already opened at a Tesco superstore in Rainham. The use of many large modern police stations could also be dramatically changed. Many officers and civilian staff could move to offices, freeing up space for more cells and room for solicitors and medical staff.

The future of New Scotland Yard is also under review although it is unlikely police will move out of the building in the near future.

Alan Croney, director of the Met's property services department, said: "Many of these traditional stations no longer fit the purpose they were built for.

"A lot of what we do now is modern and hi-tech. We need office space and many police officers do not need to be in a police station.

"We can open police counters in shops and provide a public presence in more accessible locations. We can be more flexible and put officers where the crime is.

"The conditions for officers inside these police stations is also particularly poor. These are antiquated and decrepit buildings.

"They are also not designed for information technology and wiring them is difficult and expensive."

He added that the force could no longer afford to build big modern police stations at a cost of about £20 million each.

Metropolitan Police Authority member Nicholas Long, co-author of a report into the future of police property, said: "The main aim is to make policing more relevant, to locate police stations near where people congregate."

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