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Opening hours for the four police stations in Portsmouth are to be changed to offer the public a better service.
The new opening times will be: - Fratton Police Station: 24 hours
- Portsmouth central: 0730-2200
- Cosham: 0900- 1800
- Southsea: To become an appointment only station.
The changes are expected to come in to place over the next four to six weeks.
It follows a review of opening times over the past six months.
The review found that, on average there is just over one visitor per hour to Southsea front office, whilst at Fratton and Portsmouth Central there are around 5, and at Cosham there are 3. On one Sunday in June, no one visited the Southsea office all day.
The office at Southsea is already often shut when there are not enough resources to staff it-currently this happens around one third of the time the office is supposed to be open.
An officer-led appointment system at Southsea will be brought in. This means that officers will be able to make appointments for members of the public to visit the station, for example, to take a statement on a low-level crime.
This also means there will be more front office staff available to deal with enquiries at the city's other police stations.
Beat surgeries will continue to be held at key locations to give local people the opportunity to speak with their Safer Neighbourhoods Officers about issues affecting them.
At the same time an improved queuing system is to be trialled at Fratton front office.
Chief Inspector James Fulton said: "We are sure the new city wide opening times and the option for an appointment only service at Southsea will help provide a better front office service for a number of reasons.
"It will mean that police officers will no longer have to carry out front office duties, ensuring they can concentrate on frontline policing.
"It will mean that, in normal circumstances, we will be open at the times advertised at Fratton, Central and Cosham as we will have more staff there.
"We have been consulting our staff and speaking with our partners about the exact details of the changes and how it may affect them before implementing any changes."
He added: "We recognise that this is not an ideal solution for Southsea residents, but with the limited resources available, we feel that this best meets the local needs and demands of the community."
Note to Editors: No employees affected by the new opening times will be losing their jobs because of the changes. City Councillors have been invited to represent their communities at a meeting on July 14. News Source: www.hampshire.police.uk |
