Police to shut some front counters in stations

A police force has announced it will close front counters at a number of stations across a county to provide more funding for visible policing.

Essex Police said the front counters in stations in Basildon, Braintree, Clacton and Harlow, and council-shared spaces in Maldon and Saffron Walden, will be closed from 11 July.

Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Hooper said out of the 6,703 people who used the force's front counters in January, only 203 reported new crimes or intelligence.

"Ninety per cent of people tell us that they want to see, or they find it reassuring to see, a visible policing presence in their neighbourhood," he added.

As a result of the closures, nine members of staff have chosen not to take other roles and will be made redundant.

Chelmsford, Colchester, Grays and Southend front counters would remain open and unchanged, the force added.

"Our three cities in our county have a front counter provision and actually we've looked at not only footfall but geographic spread within our county, so members of the public have got a choice of locations where to go to for wherever they live," ACC Hooper said.

"The majority of people are coming in [to the stations] for appointments with the public to see officers and they can still do that," he added.

Instead of talking to someone at the desk a person can use a yellow phone located at the entrance of a station to speak to the required officer, he said.

"[The phone] is the same as a 101 and you can say 'please can I report a crime' and they'll take you through and report the crime online and if you need to see an officer they can make an appointment," he added.

ACC Hooper explained that the public are using other channels to report crimes, such as online live chats, which has also recently become available 24/7 and were being answered within "about 10 to 20 seconds".

He said these live chats are operated by humans rather than bots "unlike many organisations, at a rate of about 3,800 a month".

"We are one of the lowest-funded forces in the UK, but actually make the best out of every pound of investment that's made either through the government or through the local police people."

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