New Estate Strategy set outs plan to put neighbourhood policing at the heart of London’s communities

The Met is calling on partners to help deliver 40 new policing hubs for neighbourhood teams across London, as part of major plans to ensure the Met Police is at the heart of the communities it serves to tackle crime and drive down violence.

The Met will approach local partners including councils and the GLA and work in partnership with them to use existing buildings to create dedicated spaces for Safer Neighbourhood Teams.

These hubs are not replacements for traditional police stations but aim to provide local bases for Safer Neighbourhood Teams, reducing travel time and increasing visibility in town centres.

A new 10-year Estate Strategy, published today by the Met Police and Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) will support the force’s mission to deliver More Trust, Less Crime and High Standards and ensure the majority of neighbourhood officers are within a 20-minute walk of the communities they serve.

The Met has already rolled out neighbourhood hubs across Greenwich, Redbridge and Westminster, increasing the Met’s presence in the area and working with the local community to drive down crime including anti-social behaviour, shoplifting and theft.

Priorities for the Met Estate over the next three years include:

• Working with partners to base 40 neighbourhood teams closer to the wards they police, enhancing officer relationships with the local communities to drive down neighbourhood crime.
• Starting to modernise the Met’s physical and digital forensics services and improve how evidence is stored and managed.
• Keeping the Met Estate legally compliant, safe and secure.
• Improving training facilities for new and existing firearms officers. This is part of ongoing work to raise standards and embed an inclusive culture right from the start of a police officer’s career.
• Beginning the electrification of the Met’s police vehicles to meet the changing mix of vehicles available from manufacturers and deliver a cleaner, greener fleet by providing appropriate charging points across its London footprint.

The strategy recognises that as a result of historic underfunding the Met will have to make some tough choices with its current estate, which includes more than 200 buildings across the capital. This will include prioritising projects that will deliver on Londoners’ needs by putting more officers in communities and bringing forward innovative solutions with partners, such as mobile or community hub police stations, to make the most of available resources.

If further funding is made available, the Mayor and Met will:

• Improve training facilities for all Met officers with the creation of new facilities.
• Deliver a better experience for those reporting crimes and redesign spaces for victims, making these more supportive and welcoming spaces.
• Create a new Emergency Response base in South West London within the next 10 years, improving 999 and emergency response times in the area.

The new strategy follows the New Met for London 2 plan which strengthens neighbourhood policing and puts officers closer to the communities they serve and is made possible by the Mayor’s record investment of £1.16 billion in the Met Police earlier this year.

With the Estate Strategy published the Met will now continue its previous plan to dispose of a number former police stations that are no longer in use to allow it to reinvest this money in the remaining estate.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “The Met needs an estate that is fit for the 21st century and serves the needs of hardworking officers, staff and all Londoners. Today’s new Estate Strategy prioritises neighbourhood policing, putting officers at the heart of the communities they serve, keeping our streets safe.

“Our investment will create 40 neighbourhood policing hubs across the capital, help to modernise the Met’s physical and digital forensics services, provide better training facilities for firearms officers and begin the process of replacing the Met’s fleet with electric vehicles.

“Despite my £1.16 billion record funding it is clear that the Met is facing some tough choices following 14 years of underfunding form the previous Government. Half of the buildings across the Met fall below acceptable standards and need to evolve to meet the demands of modern policing. I will continue to work with the Commissioner and make the case to the new Government for the funding the Met needs - to ensure we can continue delivering a safer London for everyone and build on the significant reductions in crime and violence we have achieved.”

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: “Given the well-established financial pressures we face, this new strategy sets out a realistic, achievable plan to get our buildings to an acceptable level and ensure that we are able to meet our legal requirements while still delivering on the things that matter to Londoners.

“Our financial challenges have massive implications for the speed with which we can improve conditions for our officers and staff, as well as the facilities and service we provide to victims of crime. It can’t be right that the government spends nearly double the amount per square metre on offices for Civil Servants, despite the Met operating a much more diverse and specialist estate in a high-cost London environment.

“These challenges have required us to pursue innovative solutions to deliver on the promises we have made to Londoners, including through working closely with partners across London to keep officers within a 20-minute walk of the communities they serve. Collaboration with partners on co-location is a massive opportunity for us to deliver for Londoners together and we are hoping to deliver 40 of these neighbourhood hubs over the next three years.

“However, if we were able to secure more funding, this strategy sets out an ambitious vision which would see us build new training facilities for our officers to help deliver on our mission of high standards, improve the spaces available to victims of crime to make sure they get the service they deserve and create a new Emergency Response base in South West London to speed up emergency response times when Londoners need our help.”