Two Devon cop shops to reopen

Reverse ferret on front-desk closures

Eight years after closing during the austerity years - and with the explanation that the public tended to ring or email rather than visit, Devon and Cornwall Police are re-opening some police stations. 

Station in Tiverton, Newton Abbot, Penzance, and Falmouth are due to be reopened by December.

The front desk at Newquay, which was reopened in 2020 as a temporary measure, will remain open permanently.

These offices will be staffed by police enquiry officers from Mondays to Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., while the existing nine that stayed open will operate extended opening hours of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the same days.

Officers will be able to support the 101 contact centre too when not dealing with people person.

It is estimated that the cost of the additional openings will be about £186,000 this year. They will look at reopening more in future.

With not a hint of irony about her predecessor's decision to close them in the first place, police and crime commissioner Alison Hernandez said: “Police stations offer a place of refuge for victims and a point of contact between the police and the public they serve. They are hugely reassuring for many people, enabling crimes to be reported, victims to be protected and information to flow freely between the force and the public it serves."

She continued: “We know that when people have contact with police officers their confidence in the force increases. With police officer numbers set to reach record levels in Devon and Cornwall Police thanks to investment by our communities it is right that we maximise opportunities for the public to talk to officers and staff directly.

Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer QPM said: “There is a clear business case and merit for these new opportunities which the force will continue to monitor in discussion with the PCC, recognising that in a digital age and across such a wide geography, there must be a blended means of public access to the force and that the force must seek to be present in the digital space alongside the physical space.

“During the pandemic we saw a significant increase in the number of people using our website and calling 101, however, there many people who continue to see the value in face to face contact within the reassuring setting of a police station. I am pleased that we will be continuing to explore further options of increasing our access through call centres and other digital mediums, as well as the exciting potential to open more front desks in the years to come.”