Lewisham will remain one of only two Metropolitan Police stations in London to operate 24 hours a day.
Additionally, 25 will continue with reduced hours and ten, including Mitcham, are to close.
This comes as the Met is restructuring to close a £260 million funding gap and redeploy thousands of officers.
Only Charing Cross and Lewisham will continue providing round-the-clock public access.
Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said: “The Met is having to shrink to live within its means and, as the public would expect, we are targeting our resources on a narrower set of their priorities to make London safer.
“Londoners tell us they want more visible and responsive policing on the capital’s streets, and that is exactly what we are going to deliver.”
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan expressed gratitude that more front counters were not shut.
He said: “Whilst this is an operational policing decision, this action would not have been possible without record-breaking funding from City Hall.
“We will continue to support the Met to deliver what Londoners want – boosting visible neighbourhood policing on our streets and making local officers more accessible in our communities.”
In the last twelve months, the borough recorded 120 crimes per 1,000 residents — 8% lower than the London average of 131 per 1,000, according to research platform Crystal Roof.
Nonetheless, the Met stated: “Front counters will now be better aligned with the location of custody suites and demand.”
The Met say its new plan, which involves moving 4,800 officers and 700 staff from their current role, will save £7 million.
Featured image credit: Bruno Martins via Unsplash
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