Good news for criminals this week. It’s been revealed that Waltham House police station near Leytonstone Underground is to close. Yet another front desk disappears, meaning people are less likely to report crime. Officers on the beat will also have to travel further, lacking a local base, so reducing the time spent on patrol.
Meanwhile, it’s been revealed that 72 police posts remain unfilled in Waltham Forest, something London Assembly member Jennette Arnold suggests could be a deliberate tactic to keep costs down.
I have some sympathy for police commanders trying to achieve the near impossible with increasingly limited resources. But the fact is, police on patrol are rapidly becoming an endangered species. I can see a future when we will take our children to museums and they’ll be pointing with a bemused look at old photos of people in uniforms and funny hats....Those were the days.
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