Wimbledon MP Paul Kohler calls for more local policing & rebuilding trust, in letter to Sir Mark Rowley
17 Sep 2025
Paul Kohler, MP for Wimbledon, has submitted his response to the Metropolitan Police’s A New Met for London Phase 2 consultation. While welcoming the ambition of the plan, Paul emphasises that its success will depend on the police delivering a tangible local presence, and genuine visibility & accountability.
Key points from Paul response include:
- Tackling everyday crime: Constituents consistently raise concerns about shoplifting, mobile phone theft, car crime, and anti-social behaviour. These so-called "minor" crimes have a major impact on community confidence and local businesses, and must be a policing priority.
- Visible, dedicated policing: Paul has called for the restoration of a dedicated town centre team in Wimbledon, a policing hub in Old Malden, and night-time safety initiatives such as pop-up stalls. He warned that the continued redeployment of local officers to Central London and the closure of police station front counters, including Wimbledon and Mitcham, undermines community trust and accessibility.
- Community engagement and accountability: Paul urged the Met to provide plain-English, borough-level summaries of its plans to make them accessible. He also called for structured opportunities for residents and representative groups to review and challenge policing practices, ensuring transparency and responsiveness.
- Cultural reform and rebuilding trust: Paul strongly backed proposals to strengthen vetting, improve accountability, and boost workforce diversity, but warned that rebuilding trust requires visible change, local infrastructure, and consistent communication with the public.
- Prioritising crime-fighting: Paul welcomed the commitment to cut bureaucracy and ensure officers spend more time on the frontline but stressed this must not come at the expense of neighbourhood policing. He also urged closer collaboration with other public services to ensure police time is focused on tackling crime.
- Clear performance measures: Paul called for stronger metrics, including faster response times, improved victim satisfaction, especially for low-level crimes, and better tracking of public trust and confidence in policing.
ENDS
Paul’s letter can be read in full here
Further details of the Metropolitan Police’s A New Met for London Phase 2 consultation can be found here