HAVING to be more cost efficient and reacting to how people want to contact the police is behind many recent police station closures, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.<\/p>\n
Nearly a quarter of police stations across England and Wales have closed for good according to figures obtained by a national newspaper.<\/p>\n
The closures coincide with the start of cuts to the service brought in by the Government in 2010.<\/p>\n
And in South Yorkshire, the closure of some stations and moving the services they provided to other bases has been a needed tactic to save costs.<\/p>\n
South Yorkshire Police Federation Chairman Steve Kent said; \u201cThe main police stations that have closed have been closed because they\u2019re old and knackered – it\u2019s made more sense to move them to another police base.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a mixed bag as enquiry desks are going but we are moving more towards smart contact in terms of getting in touch with people via the internet, which is good but obviously it\u2019s going to take a bit of a culture change.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other online ways for the public to contact the police are being trialled, Steve added.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not definite yet but the force is exploring the possibility of using Skype, for example, to speak to members of the public for low level matters \u2013 which seems like a great idea.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t really say police stations shutting has been a major impact in terms of the public and in effect we\u2019re not closing stations, we\u2019re just moving response bases and redeploying officers.\u201d<\/p>\n