Police enter formal consultation over enquiry counter closures

Greater Manchester Police have entered into a formal 90 day statutory consultation period with staff and UNISON about proposals to close 33 of its 55 enquiry counters – including two in the borough of Rochdale.

A review undertaken by the force and the Greater Manchester Police Authority has revealed a dramatic fall in the number of people visiting police station enquiry counters; it is also supports the work the Force is doing to make savings of £134 million by 2015.

The proposal is to keep 22 of the 55 enquiry counters open. These are the busiest and their hours would be tailored in line with customer demand and would save the Force nearly £1.5 million. The move will see counters in Littleborough and Heywood close. Enquiry counters in Rochdale and Middleton will remain open.

Assistant Chief Constable, Garry Shewan said: "What we want to do is provide the very best access to our services in a way that are fit for the future and consider the current financial situation. This means we have to make best use of the resources we have and work in different ways by putting resources where they have the biggest impact.”

The proposal follows analysis of the number of people using public enquiry counters and takes into consideration the results of a public consultation exercise on-line, face-to-face and at public meetings.

The analysis also showed that the number of visits had fallen by almost half since similar research was undertaken in 2009, from 1,039,721 down to 532,320.
It also revealed that nearly half of visitors to enquiry counters are generated by the organisation itself through appointments.

The majority of people (76 per cent) from the public consultation exercise who had contacted the police in the last five years had done so by telephone.

Mr Shewan added: "We remain committed to developing a service that can provide access to Greater Manchester Police in the most appropriate way possible and we still welcome your views in shaping future access.

“Neighbourhood Policing remains at the heart of what we do and we will continue to provide contact locally with officers at neighbourhood meetings and surgeries, arranging appointments and getting in touch by telephone, email or through social networks.”

Councillor Paul Murphy, GMPA Chairman, said: “I would like to emphasise that this is not about withdrawing from communities. Neighbourhood policing is still very much at the heart of what we do and we will continue to support the Force in embedding local officers within our neighbourhoods, ensuring communities know who their local officers are and how to contact them.

“We will continue to listen to the views of our communities as we shape the future delivery of policing in Greater Manchester.”