Hours change at town police station
The chairman of Argyll and Bute Council’s Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Isles area committee has backed a move to reduce opening hours at police stations in the area.
Campbeltown and Lochgilphead are two of four police stations which have switched to opening from 7am to 6pm, seven days a week.
And Kintyre and the Islands councillor Robin Currie has said he is reassured after talks with officers.
The new hours have also been implemented in Rothesay and Dunoon after a comprehensive review of Police Scotland’s custody and front counter demand.
Councillor Currie said: ‘There was consultation earlier in the year. My understanding is that very few people, if any, use police stations after 6pm. I have just had a meeting with police this morning [Monday November 11] and I’m assured by what they say.
‘The new hours mean that police aren’t stuck in an office with no people calling in there in person and the officers can be out on the beat.
‘I’m confident that the proposal will work.’
Police Scotland made the announcement after a study focused on long-term trends over a seven-year period.
Custody numbers reduced by 50 per cent across Argyll and Bute during that spell. Across Scotland, the same figure was 30 per cent.
Face-to-face engagement with the public at the front counter was also found to represent a relatively small part of the duties of staff, especially during the evening and at night.
Emergency contact telephones, available outside the four police stations operating revised hours, are expected to be installed early in the new year to allow communities to make direct contact with Police Scotland. Existing contact methods remain unaffected.
Chief Superintendent John Paterson of Police Scotland’s Argyll and West Dunbartonshire Division said: ‘The revised hours reflect the changes in how communities across the whole Argyll and Bute are engaging with Police Scotland.
‘I would like to reassure everyone in our communities that the level and quality of service they receive from us will not be affected as a result of the new operating hours.
‘These revised opening hours will ensure that community officers and specialist resources spend more time in our communities.’