Protest station closure plans

JOAN Edwards letter in the Gazette (January 24) talks of Hayes being the only active police station remaining when Uxbridge police station is forced to close.

The all London Plan is flawed as she correctly claims.

What is not so clear is the overall effect on lawlessness within the borough of Hillingdon with these closures? Mayor Khan has pledged £20 million to fight knife crime in the metropolitan area with an extra £35 million being talked about to combat violent crime in the form of strategies like ‘stop and search.’ Sadly, like the absence of meaningful funding for the NHS, this is insufficient funding.

Violent crime in the London borough of Hillingdon has risen alarmingly over the last two years. Of the 22 Hillingdon wards Townfield and Heathrow Villages reported 470 and 305 in November, 2017. These were the highest in the borough in a single month. You can glimpse all of these statistics on the UK Crime Stats website.

My questions are these:

1. Is not the safety of all citizens a short and long term priority?

2. Is there not a case to look urgently at the overall funding need?

3. Why is Uxbridge police station and others in the light of real societal need being closed?

4. Do we really not value a police service anymore?

I suggest that all concerned residents in the borough petition Hillingdon council, set up an online petition to make Mayor Sadiq Khan reconsider the closure decision.

Mrs Edwards letter and many others contained in the Gazette mirror my amazement and the anxiety of local people I suggest we think, talk, protest to the decision makers to reconsider their hasty actions. The Mayors Office for policing and Crime (MOPAC) at london.gov.uk is the destination for all letters.

Ian Herne

Hillingdon