People will be able to pop in to Penrith’s Hunter Lane police station as plans are revealed to open its front counter.
Cumbria Constabulary said it believed that a demand for front counter services will be needed in the town after ‘significant investment’ has been made into the station, with more officers working from there.
However, Brampton’s front counter will close from tomorrow, April 1, and changes will be made to opening hours at other front counters across the county.
All of the stations affected, including those whose front counters will no longer be open, will remain fully operational and functioning stations from which police officers and police community support officers will continue to work and be deployed from, Cumbria police said.
The opening date for the front counter at Hunter Lane, Penrith, will be confirmed in due course.
Detective Superintendent Dan St Quintin, of Cumbria Constabulary, said: “The constabulary is adapting to meet the changing behaviour of the public.
“In 2014, the constabulary saw its front counters utilised more than 100,000 times. Last year this number had fallen to around 13,000 – and a high proportion of those visiting front counters did so for a non-policing purpose.
“People are now less and less likely to seek to come to a police station to report a matter. This change in behaviour was accelerated by COVID-19, a period which also saw many people become more accustomed to communicating online.
“However, the constabulary is keen for those who still wish to speak to the police in person to have the option to do so. With the public not coming to us, we will go to the public.
“The constabulary is committing to implementing more face-to-face opportunities. Neighbourhood Policing Teams will be advertising opportunities to meet officers in person at police stations and out in the community, to discuss any concerns or issues you wish to raise.”
The changes are expected to result in considerable savings of around £300,000, without the requirement for redundancies.
The constabulary has consistently one of the best performing 999 response times in the country. Statistics published last month stated that Cumbria Constabulary were in the top five forces for percentage of calls answered in under 10 seconds.
Non-emergency call answering is also improving, with 92.5 per cent of non-emergency calls received in March 2023 answered in less than three minutes.
