Fears of police stations closing is one of the controversial issues being raised at a public meeting in London’s East End on how the Met should be run.

London’s Deputy Mayor for Policing & Crime, Stephen Greenhalgh, chairs the meeting in the New Year at the People’s Palace on Queen Mary’s college campus in Mile End, City Hall has confirmed.

“Tough decisions will have to be made in these challenging economic times,” he warned.

“But we want to boost public confidence in the police, cut crime, and drive down waste.

“To do this we need to get more officers out on the street and be smarter about the how we use buildings such as police stations and custody suites.”

Critics fear this could mean police stations closing, with Scotland Yard looking at its whole property portfolio to see where it can cut costs—it has already started a review of its large and expensive property estate.

The Met is also working on a strategy for better public access, in line with Boris Johnson’s promise that “no police front-counters will close”—unless an equal or better facility for public access has been found.

The January 24 People’s Palace meeting is part of the London-wide public consultation on a draft Police & Crime plan drawn up by the Mayor for “new ways to report crime” with more neighbourhood policing and an additional 2,000 local officers to go with it. A series of public meetings is being staged over eight weeks in every London borough in the Metropolitan Area outside the City.