Police Station Closure a disgrace says Heywood Councillor!

Heywood Councillor Peter Rush has condemned the closure of Heywood Police Station, after it was closed ALL DAY on Monday (22.01.07) Councillor Rush was visiting on behalf of a Constituent and was shocked when he read a typed notice on the door stating, "The Police Station is closed today. Sorry for any inconvenience caused. If you have any problems please use the outside telephone." Peter is furious after leading a campaign for longer opening hours at the new Station on Adelaide Street. The station is currently 'open' Monday-Saturday from 9am till 5pm.

Councillor Rush said, "This really is the straw that breaks the camel's back, there was no explanation at all and to make matters worse the phone didn't even work! Heywood Police Station needs to be open longer and I'm afraid I will not tolerate the fact that it was closed. The station cost a lot of money and has not been open long - Heywood deserves better and I'm afraid closing the station with no notice is an abandonment of duty. Heywood has recently seen a rise in crime and Heywood Police Station should be at the centre of the fight against it. I tried at the back of the station to see if there was anybody in unfortunately, their car park resembled a car showroom. Bright sparkling patrol vehicles filled the yard - these are vehicles that should be patrolling the streets of Heywood."

I am concerned that police are losing touch with Heywood through station closures such as this and the restriction in opening times. The problems of accessing police services in Heywood is getting worse especially as people struggle to get through on the phone on the wall and an 0161 number when trying to access services, it's high time this was sorted. I am aware that the station was closed because officers were moved to Rochdale and this is a disgrace and I hope that the Chief Constable can give us a better explanation and an assurance that this will never happen again."

Peter has written to Chief Constable Michael Todd asking for an explanation and asked the Borough's member of the Police Authority Councillor Barbara Todd to raise it at the next meeting of the Police Authority.

Peter has also spoken of concern that the restriction in opening hours is because of 'financial' restrictions. He said, "I will continue my campaign until Heywood gets the Police Service it deserves - that means longer opening hours. The officers in Heywood do an excellent job but they need support urgently - that means more officers in Heywood and less bureaucracy and paperwork."

Jan Berry, the chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, and others believe the reason for the decline in the number of open all hours stations is financial. Mrs Berry said: "It's important that the police are available for the public when needed; closing police stations is often a false economy and does nothing to reassure them. Police stations have become a casualty of an approach by Government and chief officers who see policing as a business rather than a service."

SOURCE: (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/08/npolice08.xml)