Police Funding: London Debate

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Department: Home Office

Police Funding: London

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park Excerpts
Wednesday 25th October 2017

(6 years, 6 months ago)

Westminster Hall
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Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park Portrait Zac Goldsmith (Richmond Park) (Con)
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Some stations and counters have very low levels of usage, so the case can be made for closing them. However, does the hon. Lady agree that if that process continues, which it almost certainly will, we will need to do something about the shocking levels of underservice by the 101 system? I have constituents who no longer bother to report crime because they do not get an answer when they call 101.

Catherine West Portrait Catherine West
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The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. The debate is similar to the one about hospital closures: we want community-based services, but once hospitals are closed, it is easy to close those services without people noticing. The same rule applies to the 101 service.

Many people feel less safe in London. Figures from the Met suggest a 5% rise in crime overall between 2015-16 and 2016-17.