600 POLICE STATIONS AXED
Crime soars as some forces axe half their sites under Tory austerity
MORE than 600 police stations have closed since the Tories came to power, figures show.
Some forces have shut over half their sites since 2010, and communities say crime has soared as a result.
Paul Kohler, whose life was saved by local police when he was attacked at home, said: “If you cut, cut and cut of course it’s going to have an effect.”
TOWNS across Britain have had their police station axed due to harsh Tory cuts, leaving residents feeling unprotected from crimes such as burglaries and assaults.
Over 600 have shut across the country since 2010, and of those that remain, some have closed their front counters where crime victims can walk in and speak to officers in person.
Some squeezed forces have had to shut more than half their local stations in the eight years since the Tories came to power with their cruel austerity.
The Police Federation, which represents 100,000 rank-and-file officers, said the mass closures have removed a “visible reassurance” for the public. Chief John Apter said: “One has to question the decision to withdraw visible policing from the streets.”
Crime victim Paul Kohler, who has campaigned against station closures, said: “The argument from the SAVED Victim Mr Kohler Government is they are just bricks and mortar, and if you have the technology it doesn’t matter if they are shut down.
“This is clearly ridiculous. If you cut, cut and cut, of course it’s going to have an effect.”
Gloucestershire Police has closed 21 of 28 stations, leaving many sizeable towns without a dedicated base for officers.
In Lancashire, 11 police station front counters have been closed this year, Freedom of Information figures showed.
The pattern is the same in the Thames Valley region, where 24 of 60 stations have gone, and Cleveland, which has shut 12.
St Albans, Herts – a city of over 140,000 people – no longer has a police station. Residents can connect to a police control room from a free phone outside council offices.
In Hungerford, Berks, an axed police station has been replaced by a base in the local fire station, but residents are asked to report crime elsewhere.
West Midlands police chiefs plan to shut 24 stations in six years to save £5million a year in running costs, prompting protests and petitions. Though most affected stations were not open to the public, objectors say they were a reassuring presence at the heart of their community.
Residents in Southmead, Bristol, said shutting its nearest station last year led to a summer of rioting, arson and joy-riding, forcing police to move into a local fire station.
Lecturer Mr Kohler, 59, was beaten by raiders at his home in Wimbledon, South London, in 2014 and says he would have died had officers from his local station not come to his aid. He said: “They play a symbolic but also a functional role. The idea they can be remote from people and communities is ludicrous.”
The Daily Mirror’s High Street Fightback campaign found the number of police stations with manned front counters fell from 901 to 510 since 2010.
Bill Storey, station clerk in Bakewell, Derbyshire, before it closed in 2015, said: “There’s more burglaries… We feel like we’ve been abandoned.”
Crime victims in London say the closure of 100 stations there has hit response times.
Thames Valley Police claimed losing stations has little impact as laptops and phones mean their “office can be anywhere”.
The Home Office said: “The nature of crime is changing. That’s why we provided a strong and comprehensive settlement that is increasing total investment in the police system by over £460million in 2018/19.”
The idea that police can be remote from people is ridiculous PAUL KOHLER WHO SAYS POLICE SAVED HIS LIFE