Campaign Begins to Save Hammersmith Police Station Front Desk
Opposition accused of jumping on bandwagon after petition launch
Hammersmith Police Station
July 30, 2025
The potential closure of Hammersmith Police Station’s front counter has been described as a “real blow to local confidence” in the force.
The station’s front desk, which was reopened in 2020 following a £60 million refurbishment, is reportedly one of 13 the Met Police is looking to close as part of a series of cost-saving measures.
If shut, it would leave Hammersmith and Fulham with no public access counter and the Central West Basic Command Unit, which also covers Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster, with just one at Charing Cross.
A Met Police spokesperson said it is no longer sustainable to keep all front counters in the capital open with the vast majority of Londoners reporting crime “over the phone, online, or in person with officers elsewhere”. They added consultations are ongoing, with no changes expected until later this year.
The BBC first reported on the leaked plans indicating the Met is looking to close half of the front counters at stations across London.
If taken forward this would mean just eight 24/7 counters would be retained. A further 11 would have their hours reduced to open until 10pm on weekdays and 7pm at weekends.
There has been reporting that some of those to be closed are the front desks at stations in Twickenham, Merton, Wimbledon and Mitcham.
Hammersmith has also been referenced in coverage. The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has not seen the leaked list, but has been shown correspondence indicating Hammersmith is one of those being considered.
The LDRS spoke to several local residents walking by the station, all of whom expressed concern over the proposal.
One man, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “I think it would create a real blow to local confidence in the police because Hammersmith is a very, very busy, densely populated area with a lot of visitors and a relatively high crime rate.”
He said his son had recently been mugged for his mobile phone, and that the removal of the front desk coincides with it becoming harder to know how to report crime.
“It creates that sense of distance from the powers that be,” he added.
One person described the front desk as offering a “peace of mind”, while another asked, “What if there’s an emergency? They always say call this [101] stuff. But what if you can’t?”
It should be pointed out that 101 is for non-emergency calls including to report crime, and in the event of a real emergency or where a crime is in progress, 999 should be used.
One local, who only gave his first name, Franco, said: “I think Instagram works more than the police at the moment.”
Andrew Slaughter, MP for Hammersmith and Chiswick, said in his regular update for HammersmithToday.co.uk, “I am disappointed by plans to close police station front counters, including the one at Hammersmith, leaving Charing Cross as the only police station in central London with a 24/7 front desk service.”
The Hammersmith and Fulham Conservative group has launched a petition calling on the Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, who heads up policing in the capital, and the Met to retain the station’s front counter.
The group’s leader, Cllr Jose Afonso, has also written to Cllr Rebecca Harvey, Cabinet Member for Social Inclusion and Community Safety, in which he proposed the Labour administration “urgently” engages with the Borough Commander and the Met’s leadership to advocate reversing the proposal.
If that fails, he suggested investigating providing spaces within the new Civic Campus or having a joint Law Enforcement Team (LET) and police counter on King Street.
Cllr Afonso told the LDRS, “The Mayor of London has broken his promise and continues to salami slice our share of police resources in our borough. That’s why we as local Conservatives launched our campaign to get him to reverse this disastrous decision.
“A key commitment of the ‘New Met for London’ was to have at least one 24/7 front counter in each of London’s 32 boroughs to make it easier for people to report crime. Last week we learned the last remaining 24/7 police counter in Hammersmith and Fulham is set to close.
“Having spoken with our Borough Commander last week, I confirmed we would work tirelessly to campaign against our local resources being cut.
“If the Mayor refuses to engage, we have proposed to the Labour administration in Hammersmith and Fulham a number of alternative solutions, which we stand ready to work with them to implement.”
Responding to Cllr Afonso’s letter, Cllr Harvey wrote she and her colleagues have already had “urgent discussions” opposing the measure with the Borough Commander, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), the Greater London Authority, and the Deputy Mayor.
She continued to note that the Civic Campus is already envisaged as a space that can be shared with the police and other partners, before writing: “I’m surprised by the points you make because your Conservative group actively supported the closure of both the Fulham and Shepherd’s Bush police stations.
“That was presumably for no other reason than, at that time, it was your local Conservative MP and Conservative Mayor who were responsible for those cuts. You will therefore forgive me if I view your letter as no more than a hypocritical attempt to jump onto a bandwagon.”
Cllr Harvey concluded by accusing the Conservatives of voting against funding crime-fighting measures such as the establishment of the council’s Law Enforcement Team, and wrote the Labour group “oppose the closure of the front counter at Hammersmith Police Station and will always go above and beyond in finding new ways to make our residents and businesses safer”.
A Met spokesperson said, “Just five per cent of crimes were reported using front counters last year, with the vast majority of Londoners doing it over the phone, online, or in person with officers elsewhere.
“Given the Met’s budget shortfall and shrinking size, it is no longer sustainable to keep all front counters open. That’s why we have taken the tough choice to pursue some closures and a reduction in hours – allowing us to focus resources relentlessly on tackling crime and putting more officers into neighbourhoods across London.”
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said, “Nothing is more important to the Mayor than keeping Londoners safe and he is determined to do all he can to support Sir Mark Rowley deliver a New Met for London where communities are put first.
“Any change to the number of police front counters or their opening times is an operational decision for the Met – based on resources, funding and public demand for services.
“After over a decade of cuts worth over a billion under the previous government, the Met is facing an extremely difficult financial situation. The Mayor is working closely with the Met to boost visible neighbourhood policing in our communities and is having ongoing discussions with Ministers and the Commissioner about the funding the Met needs to ensure we can continue building a safer London for everyone.”
Fulham Police Station’s front counter was shut in 2017 and in 2020 Shepherd’s Bush Police Station followed.
A planning application for the latter was approved by Hammersmith and Fulham Council in 2023 to demolish the building and replace it with 53 flats.
Ben Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter