Greater Manchester force to close service counters at police stations

Announcement comes after Metropolitan police say half its 24-hour stations will be closed to public outside of office hours Greater Manchester police have been accused of ending “face-to-face access” for the public after the disclosure that many public service counters at police stations across the region face closure. But the police minister, Nick Herbert, defended the move, saying contact time with the public could actually be increased if the police adopt innovative approaches, such as sharing community centres and shop premises, instead of retaining “an attachment to old buildings”. In the case of the Greater Manchester force, the alternative to the 20 public service counters that face closure appears to be a phone mounted on the outside wall of the police station with a direct line to a remote control room. The Manchester police station closures follow last week’s announcement by the Met that half the 64 “open all hours” police stations in London are to be closed to the public outside office

Posted by on June 27, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.