{"id":470721,"date":"2026-02-13T15:21:55","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T15:21:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/?p=470721"},"modified":"2026-02-13T15:21:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T15:21:57","slug":"campaign-to-keep-brixton-police-stations-front-counter-open-24-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/area\/south-london\/campaign-to-keep-brixton-police-stations-front-counter-open-24-7\/","title":{"rendered":"Campaign to keep Brixton Police Station\u2019s front counter open 24\/7"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>The Lambeth Labour Group has launched a petition urging the Metropolitan Police to keep Brixton Police Station\u2019s front counter open to the public 24\/7 and not reduce its hours.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lambeth\u2019s Labour councillors said the police station\u2019s 24\/7 counter is \u201cvital\u201d for the safety of residents, especially elderly people, vulnerable individuals and victims who rely on face-to-face support.<\/p><script type=\"text\/plain\" data-tcf=\"waiting-for-consent\" data-id=\"69959\" data-bid=\"1\" data-placement=\"448384\" data-no-track=\"impressions\">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<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>Under the plans, Brixton Police Station\u2019s front counter would open from 10am to 10pm Monday to Friday and from 9am to 7pm on weekends. If the counter\u2019s hours are reduced, the nearest 24\/7 stations would be in Lewisham and Charing Cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-southwark-news wp-block-embed-southwark-news\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"ilpLF2f9e\"><blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"rghyOKXZsb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/area\/london\/live-facial-recognition-has-taken-more-than-1700-dangerous-offenders-off-the-streets-since-2004-yet-there-are-continued-calls-for-it-to-be-stopped-immediately\/\">Live Facial Recognition has taken more than 1,700 dangerous offenders off the streets since 2004, yet there are continued calls for it to be stopped immediately<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Live Facial Recognition has taken more than 1,700 dangerous offenders off the streets since 2004, yet there are continued calls for it to be stopped immediately&#8221; &#8212; Southwark News\" src=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/area\/london\/live-facial-recognition-has-taken-more-than-1700-dangerous-offenders-off-the-streets-since-2004-yet-there-are-continued-calls-for-it-to-be-stopped-immediately\/embed\/#?secret=pEQv3CsE2H#?secret=rghyOKXZsb\" data-secret=\"rghyOKXZsb\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Met plans to close 18 front counters, 14 current 24\/7 front counters, and four already-reduced front counters as it needs to close a budget gap of \u00a3260million.<\/p><script type=\"text\/plain\" data-tcf=\"waiting-for-consent\" data-id=\"68153\" data-bid=\"1\" data-placement=\"448385\" data-no-track=\"impressions\">PGRpdiBpZD0ic291dGgtMTgzNjQ1ODkyMiIgY2xhc3M9InNvdXRoLWNvbnRlbnQgc291dGgtZW50aXR5LXBsYWNlbWVudCIgc3R5bGU9Im1hcmdpbi1sZWZ0OiBhdXRvO21hcmdpbi1yaWdodDogYXV0bzt0ZXh0LWFsaWduOiBjZW50ZXI7Ij48IS0tICAvMTU0NzI1MDcwLDIyNjk0MTk2OTY5L3NvdXRod2Fya25ld3Mvc291dGh3YXJrbmV3cyAtLT4NCjxkaXYgaWQ9ImRpdi1ncHQtYWQtMngxIj4NCjxzY3JpcHQ+DQpnb29nbGV0YWcuY21kLnB1c2goZnVuY3Rpb24oKSB7IGdvb2dsZXRhZy5kaXNwbGF5KCdkaXYtZ3B0LWFkLTJ4MScpOyB9KTsNCjwvc2NyaXB0Pg0KPC9kaXY+ICAgICAgICAgIDwvZGl2Pg==<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>The Met said its decision to reduce and close some front counters will save around \u00a37million and would cut 3,752 hours of police office time per month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However Lambeth Labour has called on the Met to reconsider its plans for Brixton Police Station, which it says has had no proper consultation with residents, the council or local stakeholders.<\/p><script type=\"text\/plain\" data-tcf=\"waiting-for-consent\" data-id=\"71156\" data-bid=\"1\" data-placement=\"448386\" data-no-track=\"impressions\">PGRpdiBpZD0ic291dGgtMTQzNTgxMzU3MyIgY2xhc3M9InNvdXRoLWluLWFydGljbGUtbXB1OSBzb3V0aC1lbnRpdHktcGxhY2VtZW50Ij48IS0tICAvMTU0NzI1MDcwLDIyNjk0MTk2OTY5L3NvdXRod2Fya25ld3Mvc291dGh3YXJrbmV3cyAtLT4NCjxkaXYgaWQ9ImRpdi1ncHQtYWQtbXB1OSI+DQo8c2NyaXB0Pg0KZ29vZ2xldGFnLmNtZC5wdXNoKGZ1bmN0aW9uKCkgeyBnb29nbGV0YWcuZGlzcGxheSgnZGl2LWdwdC1hZC1tcHU5Jyk7IH0pOw0KPC9zY3JpcHQ+DQo8L2Rpdj4gICAgIDwvZGl2Pg==<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>A spokesperson for the Met said they remain in the early stages of the proposals to reduce and close some of its front counters, and have engaged with stakeholders, including unions prior to a formal consultation which they said will occur when a decision is made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cllr Mahamed Hashi, Cabinet Member for Safer Communities at Lambeth Council, said: \u201cFirstly, we welcome the fact that we\u2019ve just secured extra police officers for Brixton and that we are seeing a fall in violent crime across Lambeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBut this isn\u2019t the time to reduce public access to our last remaining police station. This decision affects the whole borough, the police station serves multiple busy town centres and venues across the borough, not just Brixton.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cllr Hashi added: \u201cWe are calling for a serious rethink of this decision and will be raising residents\u2019 views directly with the Police, to ensure we keep Lambeth safe and secure.\u201d<\/p><script type=\"text\/plain\" data-tcf=\"waiting-for-consent\" data-id=\"71157\" data-bid=\"1\" data-placement=\"448387\" data-no-track=\"impressions\">PGRpdiBpZD0ic291dGgtMTc4NjYwMDExIiBjbGFzcz0ic291dGgtaW4tYXJ0aWNsZS1tcHUtMTAgc291dGgtZW50aXR5LXBsYWNlbWVudCI+PCEtLSAgLzE1NDcyNTA3MCwyMjY5NDE5Njk2OS9zb3V0aHdhcmtuZXdzL3NvdXRod2Fya25ld3MgLS0+DQo8ZGl2IGlkPSJkaXYtZ3B0LWFkLW1wdTEwIj4NCjxzY3JpcHQ+DQpnb29nbGV0YWcuY21kLnB1c2goZnVuY3Rpb24oKSB7IGdvb2dsZXRhZy5kaXNwbGF5KCdkaXYtZ3B0LWFkLW1wdTEwJyk7IH0pOw0KPC9zY3JpcHQ+DQo8L2Rpdj4gICAgIDwvZGl2Pg==<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) spoke to Mario Schifano, who owns San Marino, a popular Italian-inspired caf\u00e9&nbsp;and bar which has existed in the area for the last 35 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mario said keeping the front counter open 24\/7 was a \u201cno brainer\u201d and went on to say \u201cBrixton is in need of a lot of help\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The caf\u00e9&nbsp;owner grew up nearby and has seen the area change dramatically over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said: \u201cBrixton needs to be an area where the public feel safe because when they feel safe that means more revenue is coming in, more businesses are opening up and there\u2019s more cash for the businesses to spend on staff and employment. It\u2019s just a full economy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Local resident, Anne added: \u201cI\u2019m very rooted in the community and I just think it would be a great pity to cut back on the hours because I actually think the police are doing a very good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNot everybody is on the internet to report something, there\u2019s all sorts of reasons to go in as somebody could find someone else\u2019s wallet and [needs to] hand it in, to something more serious, you know, some kind of negative experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Anne added: \u201cThe community in Brixton is fantastic and it\u2019s intense. It\u2019s lively and I love living here and I\u2019ve lived here a long time, but I just know from my own experience it would be a real, real pity if they cut the hours back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-southwark-news wp-block-embed-southwark-news\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"xOwWkDaNWj8tbks9urTEPu2QVA8BDy95wf3SoTcGI1nhiaAeQUBvdeZzcqzj44tiLK6GVFm0YHoMOLXsngbJqCKCUH6YhNRd\"><blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"Bfay41MCWk\"><a href=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/news\/news-plus\/knife-crime-in-southwark-what-do-the-figures-show-and-what-do-they-hide\/\">Knife crime in Southwark: What do the figures show and what do they hide?<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Knife crime in Southwark: What do the figures show and what do they hide?&#8221; &#8212; Southwark News\" src=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/news\/news-plus\/knife-crime-in-southwark-what-do-the-figures-show-and-what-do-they-hide\/embed\/#?secret=TEXNKex5Jo#?secret=Bfay41MCWk\" data-secret=\"Bfay41MCWk\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>When the LDRS got in touch with the Met Police, a spokesperson said: \u201cJust 5per cent of crimes were reported using front counters last year, with only 1per cent of these being made during the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAt the busiest front counter in London on average 15 crimes are reported a day \u2013 less than one an hour \u2013 and in the least busy, only 2.5 crimes are reported a day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They added: \u201cLondoners tell us they want to see more officers on our streets. The decision to reduce and close some front counters will save \u00a37million 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: \u201cNothing is more important to the Mayor than keeping Londoners safe and Sadiq is determined to support Sir Mark Rowley deliver a New Met for London with neighbourhood policing at the heart of communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe proposed changes to Police Station front counters is an operational decision for the Met, based on resources, funding and public demand for services.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They added: \u201cThe Mayor will continue to support the Met to deliver what Londoners want \u2013 boosting visible neighbourhood policing on our streets as well as having ongoing discussions with Ministers and the Commissioner about the funding the Met needs to ensure we can continue building a safer London for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>A link to Lambeth Labour\u2019s petition can be found\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lambeth-labour.org.uk\/petition\/stop-the-cut-to-lambeth-police-station-24-7-front-counter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here.\u00a0<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-tiktok wp-block-embed-tiktok\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"tUSXExsD5eomM1TGaCVf7OR42rhqd9I3nkJH06lgcZz8wjNubyPLAKWYpB\"><blockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" cite=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@southwarknews\/video\/7360699984620064032\" data-video-id=\"7360699984620064032\" data-embed-from=\"oembed\" style=\"max-width:605px; min-width:325px;\"> <section> <a target=\"_blank\" title=\"@southwarknews\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@southwarknews?refer=embed\">@southwarknews<\/a> <p>He runs his own company at just 23 years old ? @Josh_sparks9  <a title=\"foryou\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/foryou?refer=embed\">#foryou<\/a> <a title=\"foryoupage\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/foryoupage?refer=embed\">#foryoupage<\/a> <a title=\"peckham\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/peckham?refer=embed\">#peckham<\/a> <a title=\"metpolice\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/metpolice?refer=embed\">#metpolice<\/a> <a title=\"news\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/news?refer=embed\">#news<\/a> <\/p> <a target=\"_blank\" title=\"? original sound - Southwark News\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/music\/original-sound-7360700098399357728?refer=embed\">? original sound &#8211; Southwark News<\/a> <\/section> <\/blockquote> <script async src=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Lambeth Labour Group has launched a petition urging the Metropolitan Police to keep Brixton Police Station\u2019s front counter open to the public 24\/7 and not reduce its hours. Lambeth\u2019s Labour councillors said the police station\u2019s 24\/7 counter is \u201cvital\u201d for the safety of residents, especially elderly people, vulnerable individuals and victims who rely on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19330,"featured_media":470723,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard","override":[{"template":"1","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"1","show_view_counter":"1","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","show_comment_section":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"1","show_inline_post_related":"1"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0","subtitle":"The decision to reduce and close some front counters will save \u00a37million"},"jnews_primary_category":{"id":"9635"},"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[13541,13539,13602,13543,9635],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-470721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","category-featured","category-news","category-politics","category-south-london"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19330"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=470721"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470721\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":470726,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470721\/revisions\/470726"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/470723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=470721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=470721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=470721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}