Brockley police station to close, but Lewisham officer numbers up as Brockley faces police shake-up

The new London-wide Police and Crime Plan has confirmed that Brockley Police Station will shut as part of a closure programme for 60 police desks across the capital.

Meanwhile, police numbers in the borough will rise by 2015,  although not by as much as originally indicated. The Mayor had originally claimed 54 new police positions would be created in Lewisham, but figures released today by the London Labour Party put the real number at 13.

Nonetheless, this represents a pretty good outcome for Lewisham. Money needs to be saved and closing a little-used and seldom-open station is one of the least painful ways of saving it. And while the increase in police numbers is smaller than originally promised, office numbers are nonetheless increasing. With Greenwich set to lose 16 officers by 2015 and 16 other London boroughs' numbers due to shrink, Lewisham has secured relatively good deal.

UPDATE: The Police and Crime Plan will also create Local Police Areas (LPA), which means Lewisham wards will lose their Safer Neighbourhood Teams, to be replaced by bigger area teams: North, Central and South. Brockley ward will be covered by the Local Police Area North. Cllr Johnson says on Twitter:

"I'm far more worried about dilution of Safer Neighbourhood Teams under these plans than the police station going... and having a dedicated Sergeant has meant we've been able to get a number of long-running problems dealt with."