PSNI Offices To Close 12 Hours A Day

All PSNI Station Enquiry Offices across Northern Ireland are to be reduced to a maximum of 12 hours as a result of budget cuts.

The PSNI is required to save £38.4m by 31 March 2015 and will be faced with about 10% cuts next year.

Changes to enquiry office opening hours will be implemented over coming weeks and months. There will be two exceptions: Musgrave Station in Belfast and L'Derry’s Strand Road Station enquiry offices, which will remain open to the public 24 hours each day.

Assistant Chief Constable for District Policing, Stephen Martin, explained: "It is important the public is reassured that any reduction in enquiry office opening hours does not mean a reduction in our service. Policing remains a 24 hour, seven days a week operation and we will continue to be there at people’s time of need. Police activities within stations will continue as normal and we can be contacted 24 hours a day on either 101 or for emergencies on 999."

The PSNI has said its research shows police stations receive a very small number of callers trying to attend to routine matters between the hours of 22:00 and 08:00. The number of people visiting the station enquiry offices after 22:00 accounts for less than 2% of visits to the enquiry office over a whole week, it said.

ACC Martin added: "The public are increasingly engaging with the police in different ways – from online reporting of non-emergency and hate crime incidents, to interacting with local police on one of our 32 Facebook pages and 32 Twitter feeds, to contacting local Neighbourhood Policing Teams directly as their contact details are available from the PSNI website. As a result we have found fewer people are visiting or using police stations.

"We have taken efforts to minimise any inconvenience caused to communities through reducing the station enquiry office opening hours by taking into consideration peak times they are used. Each of the District Commanders will be determining the opening hours at every one of our stations based on demand. They will be communicating the new public opening times to their communities through the local media and via our social media channels and website over coming weeks."

It is anticipated that decreasing enquiry office opening hours will save up to £250,000 per year and up to £75,000 by the end of this financial year.

(IT/CD)