Two of borough’s four police enquiry counters to close

Two police enquiry counters in the Rochdale borough are to close as part of cost cutting measures by Greater Manchester Police.

A review of public enquiry counters has shown they are rarely used, and police bosses consider it ‘uneconomic’ to keep them open. The move will see counters in Littleborough and Heywood close.

Enquiry counters in Rochdale and Middleton will remain open.

In total just 21 of 55 counters across Greater Manchester remain open while consultation takes place on the future of access to the services.

Greater Manchester Police and Greater Manchester Police Authority are asking the public how they want to be able to contact police as part of consultation launched today (Tuesday 28 June).

The introduction of new technology, developments in neighbourhood policing and the changing way people do business in the modern world have led to a need to change how people access services.

GMP, with the support of GMPA, has invested in neighbourhood policing teams and Police Community Support Officers and has created customer service desks to keep people informed.

From November, a new non-emergency hotline number – 101 - will be in place which will be used to contact the police about local issues, which will enhance the current service.

Chief Constable Peter Fahy said: “In the past two years we have expanded neighbourhood policing and the role of PCSOs and this has given us greater links to local people.

“We have invested in customer service desks and appointments for non-emergency issues. We have increased information available on the Internet and started conversations with social networks.

“But we have retained enquiry counters that in many places have become expensive to run and may be used by only a small number of people during the day. It is clear we need to understand how people want to contact us and ensure that we have developed access suitable for the future.

“People will have an opportunity to give us their views about what they want to contact us about and help to shape the future service.

“However, we need to make savings now and cannot continue to run uneconomic enquiry counters.”

The review will mean that by January 2012 there will be 21 enquiry counters open to the public with three in Manchester and two in each of the other boroughs. Details in the review also revealed that 96 per cent of visits happened between 8am and 11pm so in each borough an enquiry counter will be open during these times, with Manchester city centre open 24 hours.

Mr Fahy added: “Despite the best efforts of the staff, many of the enquiry counters are not welcoming places. They try to provide a very broad range of services and are not the best way to provide them. What we need to do, is design a service that can provide support in the most appropriate way possible. So we will be exploring all opportunities including community locations, expanding neighbourhood meetings and surgeries, and improving direct contact with local officers.

“This is about identifying how we can improve the ways people have access to our services.”

Councillor Paul Murphy, Chairman of the GMPA, said: “Ensuring GMP provides a quality service to the public of Greater Manchester is of paramount importance to Greater Manchester Police Authority. This has to be achieved in the context of the current financial situation which means modernising the way the Force works and making best use of the resources we have available.

“We recognise that being able to access the police service is important to the public which is why the Police Authority has supported GMP in the development of neighbourhood policing, embedding it at the heart of our communities.

“I want to emphasise that today is the start of meaningful consultation with the public, partners and our staff about the proposed changes and the future vision of delivering policing in Greater Manchester. We will listen to our communities about how they want to engage with the police and where we should focus our resources.”