Police banished from own contact point in Hampstead
Sgt Ryan Keating opening the Hampstead contact point at the Old Hampstead Town Hall earlier this year. Picture: Dieter Perry - Credit: Archant
Is there anything that has caused more embarrassment for the Met than police contact points in recent times?
These are the new police drop-in centres that are manned three hours per week, introduced as a sop to communities angry about losing their stations and front counters.
Recall the tale of Hampstead’s contact point. After spending months scouting for a location before settling upon Old Hampstead Town Hall in Haverstock Hill, Camden officers were understandably miffed when Scotland Yard tried to pull the plug over a paltry £30 weekly fee for the premises.
Meanwhile, the former Hampstead Police Station was being sold off for millions.
The Ham&High offered to pay the £30 before taking the matter to Boris Johnson – whereupon the funds suddenly appeared.
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And it seems the shambolic saga is trundling on. Officers have now been forced to stand outside the building to receive members of the public in the street – hardly the ideal forum for reporting crime or anti-social behaviour.
Apparently one of its three hours a week clashes with a counselling programme in the same building – and officers have been banished because their presence was unsettling those attending the sessions.
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