Kingston's police force was held up as an example to the rest of the Metropolitan Police by its commissioner Sir John Stevens this week.

He was in the borough on Monday to officially open the new reception area in Kingston and celebrate the one-year anniversary of the reopening of the front desk of New Malden police station.

He began his day at Kingston where he was impressed by the new modern facilities.

He said: "I think it is fantastic, there is no doubt about it. The old front was appalling and was not welcoming to anybody coming in.

"It is good to see here at Kingston especially as they are having such splendid results in auto crime and burglary.

"That is really a result of working closely with the community. It is an excellent example to the rest of London."

He then made his way to New Malden police station to share in the celebrations of the successful initiative to reopen the station with volunteers manning the desk from Monday to Saturday.

In the last 12 months more than 2,500 people have visited the station and the volunteers have provided 1,250 three-hour sessions and have dealt with hundreds of phone calls.

New Malden born-and-bred Sir John, said: "The success of the re-opened station is a credit to the hard work and dedication that the volunteers have put in to making their community a safer place for all.

"These people have worked tirelessly to provide a much welcomed service and I give them my full support for continuing to do so in the future."

To mark the day, 52 balloons were released, one for every successful week the station has been open.

July 12, 2002 11:30