Police in Tottenham are set to become more accessible to residents after Sainsbury’s offered to provide the Met with a rent-free contact point in its new store.
In addition to providing the space rent-free, the supermarket chain will cover all fitting out and running costs, with the Met paying only to install and run its secure IT systems.
The move from an existing facility at Grove Park Business centre to the new Northumberland Park store is expected to save the force around £74,000 each year.
The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime says the new contact point will “increase visibility of the police” by making them accessible to around 1,500 shoppers per hour.
The Northumberland Park contact point is the latest in a series of in-store bases Sainsbury’s has provided rent-free to local police. The business also encourages staff to join their local forces as Special Constables.
A spokesperson for the company said the bases “put police at the heart of their local communities, providing additional resources to hard pressed police budgets, deter criminal behaviour and provide reassurance to colleagues and customers.”
