Police Stations: Croydon
Home Department
Steve Reed (Croydon North, Labour)
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had on the closure or sale of police station buildings in Croydon North since May 2010; and what the outcome was of any such discussions.
Damian Green (Ashford, Conservative)
Decisions about the most effective use of available resources, including the number and operating hours of police stations and any disposal of such premises, are matters for the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime and the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.
It is important not to confuse buildings with the availability and accessibility of the police. There are many good examples of forces doing far more with their money by finding new forms of public contact. These include the new non-emergency number, 101, the internet, or contact in places such as supermarket surgeries, where thousands of people, rather than the very few who may come in to a police station, can meet the police.