227 Police stations closed under Labour's "tough on crime" policy

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 9th Aug 2004

Labour has presided over the closure of three police stations a month since 1997, according to new figures released today by the Liberal Democrats. A previously unpublished Home Office survey conducted in November 2003, released to the Liberal Democrats, shows that a total of 536 police stations have been lost since 1992, including 227 under Labour. The rate of closures was even higher during Michael Howard's term as Home Secretary, when police stations were closed at a rate of one a week.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Mark Oaten MP, said: "Many of these closures have been in the name of efficiency and cost-cutting. Thousands of people no longer have a permanent police presence in their town or neighbourhood.

"Community policing is vital for cutting crime and maintaining public confidence. At a time when the government claims the public should have a bigger say in local policing, people are increasingly unable to go down to their local station and talk to an officer in person. Police stations are a precious resource, and the government has let people down by failing to protect them."