MP’s blast over police front desk shutdown
WEST Lancashire MP Rosie Cooper has reacted furiously to proposals to close the front desk at Ormskirk Police Station.
Lancashire police have announced their intention to close 10 stations to the public, including the Ormskirk facility on Derby Street in Ormskirk town centre.
There will also be reduced hours where the public can report crimes at the Skelmersdale station.
Ms Cooper, who was reelected with an increased majority earlier last month, pointed to this decision and last year’s closure of Ormskirk Magistrates’ Court as signs that West Lancashire was being treated unfairly.
The proposals are now subject to a consultation and Ms Cooper has strongly criticised the plan.
She said: “My priority is to ensure that local residents have local access to the police.
“This decision marks a worrying trend in the treatment of those who live in West Lancashire.
“The report states that alternative ways of reporting crime are becoming more common, with telephone contact centres dealing with more than 2,400 calls every day.
“This is often because local residents simply have no choice. “When they phone police stations they often only get answer phones, when what they need is a real person to speak to. “With further cuts from central government likely, West Lancashire will continue to see its transport links under threat. “With few buses and no rail station, do we really expect Ormskirk’s residents to use an alternative front desk, nearly six miles away in Skelmersdale? “This is the thin edge of the wedge. How long before Lancashire police are talking about the closure of the police station? “There are questions that need to be answered. “Residents need a fully operational police force where they can speak directly to the police, not an answerphone.”