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Enquiry offices to close – official
From the The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald, first published Friday 9th Feb 2007.
Police enquiry offices all over Wiltshire are to close after members of the county's police authority today voted for the change.
Only Salisbury, Swindon and Melksham will have police stations that remain open to the public.
But top officers today pledged that no enquiry offices will close until alternative public contact points have been set up.
Acting Assistant Chief Constable Paul Howlett said: "The number of people who visit many of our enquiry offices has fallen dramatically over the decades to a point where we cannot justify continuing to spend the total of £1.2m of tax payers money in keeping them all open. In some of these locations, only a couple of people a day ever call in.
"The Government has rightly recognised the need for all police forces to enhance their ability to combat serious and major crime and terrorism - the events of the last few weeks, with further arrests under the Terrorism Act and the letter bombs being sent to locations throughout the country, provide further illustration of this growing need.
"The need for a truly local, community focused policing service is also high on the Government's agenda, and the programme in Wiltshire to introduce 90 Neighbourhood Policing Teams across the county is proving hugely popular with the local people.
"Policing must continually change, to adapt to the changing needs of the public. Accordingly we have developed and are presently implementing a major programme of reform and restructuring called The Optimus Project which will help us to meet both the needs of the community and the objectives set by Government.
"A key feature of this project is to enhance the ways in which the public can contact Wiltshire Police, and the number of opportunities now being provided are far greater than ever before and far more suited to modern life.
"All the evidence suggests that there is a dwindling public demand for many of our existing enquiry offices and in their place we are planning to open 30 new police contact points throughout the county. Based in town and village locations, many in existing public buildings, we believe these contact points will prove far more popular and accessible than many of the existing enquiry offices are.
"Whilst certain enquiry offices will close, police stations will remain to accommodate this new method of working and it must be stressed that no enquiry office will close until new local contact points have been identified and set up.
"Modern policing is a complex and costly business. We have to operate within a tight budget and have a responsibility to invest that money in the most cost effective way to deliver the best possible public service.
"Even with the £500,000 savings generated by the phased closure of some enquiry offices, additional savings still need to be made to meet the policing priorities set by Government and local people. This will help us maintain our reputation as one of the safest places in England in which to live and work."
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