As per recent reports, there has been a concerning decline in police front desks over the past decade, prompting suggestions to utilize libraries, shopping centers, and supermarkets for this purpose.
The Liberal Democrats are advocating for the establishment of hundreds of police front desks across England and Wales to address this issue. This initiative would be financed by eliminating police and crime commissioners, as highlighted by Lisa Smart, the party’s spokesperson for home affairs.
Smart emphasized the importance of enhancing accessibility to law enforcement, citing a drop from 365 to 268 police counters between 2015 and the present, representing a significant 26% decrease. Among the forces surveyed, Bedfordshire Police saw the most substantial reduction at 78%, followed by Surrey Police at 60%, and the West Midlands, West Yorkshire, and Metropolitan forces with cuts of 58%, 53%, and 52%, respectively.
During the Lib Dem conference in Bournemouth, Smart proposed reallocating funds by abolishing police and crime commissioners, a move that aligns with the party’s longstanding stance on this issue. The party’s research revealed that these commissioners incurred £100 million in administrative costs between 2019 and 2023, with some individual commissioners earning over £100,000 annually.
Smart stressed the importance of community-oriented policing and criticized the Conservative government for neglecting neighborhood policing while accusing the Labour Party of prioritizing urban areas over rural communities. Additionally, she called for clearer plans from the government regarding the increase of 13,000 officers and PCSOs within neighborhood policing teams.
The current administration has committed to deploying 3,000 officers by next March and reaching the full quota by the end of the parliamentary term in 2029. Smart reiterated the need for increased resources in policing, highlighting past underfunding and emphasizing the necessity for long-term planning by chief constables.