Key Points
- Lambeth Labour councillors have launched a petition urging the Metropolitan Police to keep Brixton Police Station’s front counter open 24/7.
- Under the Metropolitan Police’s plan, Brixton’s front desk would operate from 10 am to 10 pm on Fridays and from 9 am to 7 pm at weekends.
- The force says the changes are part of efforts to address a £260million budget gap and would save about £7million a year.
- Lambeth councillors say the front counter is vital for residents, especially elderly people, vulnerable individuals and victims who need face-to-face help.
- The Metropolitan Police says only 5 per cent of crimes were reported through front counters last year, with just 1 per cent of those reported overnight.
- Sadiq Khan’s 2024 manifesto pledged to maintain a 24-hour police front office counter in every borough.
Brixton (South London News) April 29, 2026 – Lambeth Labour councillors have moved to block planned reductions to Brixton Police Station’s front counter, arguing that the move would weaken public access to policing in one of the borough’s busiest areas.
As reported by Southwark News, the Lambeth Labour Group has launched a petition asking the Metropolitan Police to keep Brixton Police Station’s front counter open 24/7 and not reduce its hours. The group says the counter is “vital” for residents, including elderly people, vulnerable individuals and victims who rely on in-person support. It also says the proposed change was taken without proper consultation with residents, the council or local stakeholders.
What changes are being proposed at Brixton Police Station?
The Met’s plan would reduce Brixton Police Station’s front counter from a round-the-clock service to limited hours. Under the proposal, the counter would open from 10 am to 10 pm Monday to Friday and from 9 am to 7 pm on weekends.
If the hours are reduced, the nearest 24/7 front desks would be in Lewisham and Charing Cross, according to the report.
The Met’s wider plan involves closing 18 front counters, including 14 that currently operate 24/7 and four that already have reduced hours. The force says these changes are intended to help address a £260million budget shortfall.
How has Lambeth responded?
Lambeth’s Labour councillors say the decision sends the wrong message about public safety. Cllr Mahamed Hashi, Lambeth Council’s Cabinet Member for Safer Communities, said the borough has recently secured extra police officers and has seen a fall in violent crime, but argued that this is
“not the time to reduce public access”
to the last remaining police station in the borough.
Cllr Hashi said the station serves more than Brixton itself, covering multiple busy town centres and venues across Lambeth.
He added that the council wants a serious rethink and will raise residents’ views directly with the police. The council’s campaign is being framed as a local safety issue as well as a matter of access to frontline policing services.
What do residents and businesses say?
Local reactions reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service were mixed but generally cautious about the proposed cut. Mario Schifano, who owns the San Marino café and bar in Brixton, called keeping the front counter open 24/7 a “no-brainer” and said safer streets support local trade and business confidence.
He argued that public safety helps spending, staffing and employment in the area.
A local resident, Anne, said it would be a “real, real pity” if the hours were cut back. She said not everyone uses the internet to report issues and that people may still need to hand in lost property or report more serious matters in person.
Her comments reflect one of the central arguments made by campaigners: that a physical front desk remains useful even in an increasingly digital policing system.
What is the Met Police’s case?
The Metropolitan Police says the front counter changes are being driven by demand, resources and funding pressures.
In its response, a spokesperson said the decision would save around £7million and free up 3,752 hours of police officer time per month. The force argues that this would allow more officers to be deployed in neighbourhoods across London.
The Met also said only 5 per cent of crimes were reported via front counters last year, and only 1 per cent of those reports were made at night. It added that at the busiest front counter in London, an average of 15 crimes are reported a day, while the least busy sees 2.5 reports a day.
A spokesperson said the force is still in the early stages of the proposals and that formal consultation would take place once a decision is made.
How does Sadiq Khan’s pledge fit in?
The row has revived criticism of Sadiq Khan’s 2024 election promise to maintain a 24-hour police front office counter in every borough.
ITV reported that Khan defended the wider closures later, saying some counters would remain open 24 hours where there is demand, resources and funding, while others would operate only during office hours.
That explanation has not eased concerns among critics, who argue that the Brixton proposal undermines the spirit of the manifesto pledge.
The issue is now being tested at the borough level, where local Labour councillors are openly challenging a policy linked to the Mayor’s wider policing strategy. The dispute also highlights the tension between budget savings and visible, accessible policing.
What happens next?
The next stage appears to depend on the Metropolitan Police’s formal consultation and final decision on front counter closures.
Lambeth Labour has already said it will continue lobbying the force and pressing the case that Brixton’s counter should remain open 24/7. The Met says it is still consulting and has not yet implemented the changes.
If the plan goes ahead, Brixton residents seeking face-to-face help outside the reduced opening hours would need to travel to other boroughs for a round-the-clock counter.
That could become a practical issue for people without easy internet access, those dealing with urgent matters and those who prefer in-person reporting. It may also sharpen debate about how visible policing should be balanced against financial pressure across London.
Background of the development
The planned reduction at Brixton sits within a wider Met Police drive to cut costs across London front counters. Reporting from BBC and other outlets earlier in 2025 said the force was looking to close nearly half of its front desks because of a large funding gap and shrinking resources.
The Met’s argument has consistently been that fewer front counters would allow more officers to work on the street rather than behind desks.
Brixton Police Station matters in this debate because it is Lambeth’s last remaining police station front counter, making it symbolically and practically important to local campaigners.
The dispute also comes at a time when police visibility, trust and access to services remain politically sensitive across London. For that reason, the Brixton case has become a test of whether the Met can reduce costs without weakening public confidence in local policing.
Prediction
For Brixton residents, the proposed change could make it harder to get immediate in-person help outside the new opening hours, especially for older people, vulnerable people and those without reliable internet access. For local businesses, any perception that access to policing has been reduced may feed concerns about safety, particularly in a busy town-centre area.
For the Metropolitan Police, the outcome will shape how credible its claim is that moving staff away from front desks improves neighbourhood policing. For Lambeth Labour, the campaign may remain a local political issue if residents continue to view the counter as essential. More broadly, the row is likely to keep pressure on the Mayor of London and the Met over how they balance budget cuts with public-facing services.
