21 front counters to close
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Monday, November 28, 2011
9:00 AM
DOZENS of Essex police stations will either close or have reduced opening times as part of plans to slash £41million from the force’s budget.
From today, 21 community stations – including ones in West Mersea, Wivenhoe, Copford, Mistley, Brightlingsea, Walton and Thorpe-le-Soken – will close.
The changes, which police chiefs estimate will save the force £2.5m a year, will see nine further stations switch from 24-hour opening to 8am to midnight. These include front counters at Colchester, Chelmsford, Braintree and Clacton.
Another 16 front counters – at stations in Halstead, Witham, Maldon and Harwich – will offer reduced opening times of noon to 6pm.
A spokeswoman for Essex Police said: “At the moment some of our front counters are open at times of very little demand.
“We are also one of only two forces in our region that maintain 24-hour opening hours in some of our main stations, which is an inefficient use of our resources in the face of substantial budget cuts.
“The changes will allow staff to be relocated to support other areas of Essex Police where there is significant operational demand, in particular the force information room and the crime bureau.
“It also means police officers are not removed from their operational role to perform front counter duties.
“We are confident these changes will save an estimated £2.5m from our annual budget and it is to be noted that 96.6% of the Essex population will be within 10km of a police station front counter.
“Phones providing direct contact through to the police switchboard will be provided at all stations that previously operated on a 24-hour basis when they move to the new opening hours.”
Part of the rationale for closing community stations was a survey carried out in the summer that showed more than 60% of respondents had not visited a police station in the last 12 months and that about 90% of people preferred to report a crime over the telephone.
Police have pledged to use innovative, more cost-effective ways of meeting residents. These include mobile police stations at supermarkets, and local community surgeries run by neighbourhood policing teams.
The county’s force is looking to save about £41m by 2014 and has already announced that it is looking to run the service with about 380 fewer police officers. Although officers cannot be made redundant, there is a freeze on recruitment and retiring officers will not be replaced.
Deputy Chief Constable Derek Benson said: “Essex Police is a 24-hour service and officers will continue to be accessible round the clock, every day of the year, to members of the public.
“We have written to partner organisations, including county, district, town and parish councils, to make them aware of the changes.”