Federation Comment on Police Station Closures

Alan Gordon, Vice-Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, says:

“Police station closure is always an emotive issue. Police stations have a symbolic value for the community, making the public feel safe even if they never have to visit one.
In recent years, an unprecedented number of stations have closed or have restricted their opening hours which more readily reflect their use. Regrettably, policing now has to function more like a business than a service. Chief officers have to make economic decisions based on demand and cost-benefit analysis, rather than on the needs and demands of the public we are trying to serve.

We now have a disgraceful state of affairs, where it is possible at times to travel from one county to another without finding a police station that is open. Speaking from personal experience, when I was in desperate need of a police officer and all I managed to find was a telephone booth outside a locked station, I can sympathise with the public at large – but I also have sympathy for the chief officers forced into this situation by financial constraints