When I was first elected back in 2010, this borough had, with the benefit of hindsight, an embarrassment of riches when it came to our police resources.
We had our own Borough Commander under whom sat various ranks of senior officers.
And, at ward level, each ward had its own Sergeant with a ward team of officers and PCSOs.
In addition to this, we had a police station with a front counter in Richmond, another at Teddington, and the traffic garage at Hampton.
And, of course, we had Twickenham Police Station with not only a front counter but also a full custody suite.
Now the picture has changed as a Tory Mayor & Government and now, a Labour Mayor and Government have made cut after cut.
First, Hampton went, followed by Teddington and Richmond.
The borough was subsumed into a Base Command Unit, meaning we lost our own dedicated commander and we now share a Commander with Kingston, Wandsworth, and Merton.
The 18 ward sergeants now number around 7.
Of course, it goes without saying that all other ranks have suffered cuts.
I had thought that we had seen the last of the cuts to our local policing; I was wrong.
Late last week it was announced that the 24/7 police front counter at Twickenham would be closing as a result of budget pressures.
This means for the first time in this borough’s history there won’t be a single police front counter, where people can report crime in person, anywhere in the borough.
Not one.
Of course, we all recognise that the Metropolitan Police are under immense financial pressures, however, this feels like a completely wrong step.
Trust and confidence in the police is at an all time low and this will do nothing to offer reassurance to residents whose fear of crime is already heightened, in spite of the low crime levels locally.
The argument is that because footfall is low then police counters aren’t needed.
Following the same logic, cruise liners could get away with about half the number of lifeboats, given they’re rarely used.
When the Labour Government was elected in 2024, Sadiq Khan promised us a golden age.
A Labour Mayor delivering for London with the wind of a Labour Government in his sails.
Few, if any of us, are seeing much evidence of this and this latest cut is just more evidence that the Mayor is failing in his duty to make the case for proper funding for London.
I should stress, none of this is a complaint against our excellent local police team, I have the highest regard for the work they do in keeping us all safe with increasingly reduced resources.
But this feels like a decision taken in haste without full consideration of the implications for residents.
Rest assured I, along with the council as well as our local MPs, will oppose this latest cut.
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