How you can help police choose their opening hours
Tuesday, 6th July 2010.
Police in Haverhill are stepping up their efforts to get the public to choose their police station opening hours.
Haverhill police station is currently open every day from 9am to 6pm, but Suffolk Constabulary has decided to review the efficiency of police station opening times, and Haverhill will lose one hour each weekday.
The new proposals are for eight-hour opening each weekday at some time between 7am and 6.30pm, and the police want the public to suggest which they would prefer from five options - 7am-3pm, 8am-4pm, 9am-5pm, 10am-6pm or 10.30am-6.30pm.
You can write in to tell the police, or you can pop in to the police station, where there is a big poster on the noticeboard with the options displayed and boxes to tick for preferences.
You can also indicate your preference via their website at www.suffolk.police.uk
The closing date for comments is July 31, and Haverhill police chief, Insp Chris Galley, said the new hours would take effect later in the year.
"It's important to emphasise that this is just the front desk we are talking about here," said Insp Galley.
"Police officers will still be based here and the public can access us through the contact point outside at any time."
When the police station is open to the public, a station clerk is on duty to deal with such things as inquiries, lost and found property, drivers producing their documents and any information the public want to pass on to the police.
But Inswp Galley said he would rather his police officers were out on patrol than sitting behind a desk on the off-chance someone might come in.
Haverhill police station is currently open every day from 9am to 6pm, but Suffolk Constabulary has decided to review the efficiency of police station opening times, and Haverhill will lose one hour each weekday.
The new proposals are for eight-hour opening each weekday at some time between 7am and 6.30pm, and the police want the public to suggest which they would prefer from five options - 7am-3pm, 8am-4pm, 9am-5pm, 10am-6pm or 10.30am-6.30pm.
You can write in to tell the police, or you can pop in to the police station, where there is a big poster on the noticeboard with the options displayed and boxes to tick for preferences.
You can also indicate your preference via their website at www.suffolk.police.uk
The closing date for comments is July 31, and Haverhill police chief, Insp Chris Galley, said the new hours would take effect later in the year.
"It's important to emphasise that this is just the front desk we are talking about here," said Insp Galley.
"Police officers will still be based here and the public can access us through the contact point outside at any time."
When the police station is open to the public, a station clerk is on duty to deal with such things as inquiries, lost and found property, drivers producing their documents and any information the public want to pass on to the police.
But Inswp Galley said he would rather his police officers were out on patrol than sitting behind a desk on the off-chance someone might come in.
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