Concerns raised about police front counter closures

Essex Police is closing half of its front counters - affecting stations in Basildon, Braintree, Clacton and Harlow - with the aim of refocussing efforts on providing visible policing on the streets. But what do people in Basildon make of it?

Local postman, Vasile Moldovan, 49, said the move was "very, very bad" as some people, such as the elderly, might not have access to the internet.

He described his experience of using the Basildon front counter in the past: "We saw somebody there, he was very good, because we could show him what the problem was, because sometimes by telling them you might not express the exact problem, or they might not be able to understand."

Marie, 51, is against the change, having appreciated talking to a human being when she reported a potential fraud.

"It won't be the same, unfortunately."

David Archbold, who was visiting the town he grew up in, said he liked the concept of visible policing, but was not seeing it.

"I've been in Basildon all morning, I haven't seen one police officer."

He said his wife used the front desk when she was assaulted and was not sure if the front counter service was worth the four hours of giving statements.

"[Online] would probably have been easier," he said.

Carol Greener, 79, was "shocked" to hear the news.

"We used to have - in the town square - a police cabin, which was really handy, but now you can't even go to a police station and talk at the desk. It's quite worrying, really," she said.

"It's all the cutbacks isn't it, just a phone or a text message... you want to speak face-to-face to someone."

Noak Bridge resident Myra Sinclair, 76, was shopping in Basildon for the afternoon.

She described the reception closures as awful.

"Especially for us older people, we just don't want to deal with that. We just need a person to speak to," she said.

But local resident Chaz described a bad experience with the service.

"I remember going to one once when I found a purse and there was money in it," he explained.

He said he queued for 20 minutes before being told there were no forms.

"I just walked out, left the purse on the counter."

However, he valued the service, saying they should "definitely have more" open.

Basildon Labour councillor Aidan McGurran echoed this point on BBC Essex, saying people would be less likely to hand in valuables now.

He also addressed the lack of public consultation: "The speed with which it's being done is quite extraordinary."

He added the population living near the station was on the increase, and demand would go up with that.

Unison Eastern regional organiser Tom Rhodes weighed in, calling it "another worrying blow for visible policing in Essex".

"These inquiry points are a vital link between the public and the police.

"It's already clear how much people in this county value visible policing. Earlier this year, police chiefs had to abandon plans to scrap police community support officers after a public outcry."

Assistant chief constable Stuart Hooper said out of the 6,703 people who used the force's front counters in January, only 203 reported new crimes or intelligence.

"Ninety per cent of people tell us that they want to see, or they find it reassuring to see, a visible policing presence in their neighbourhood," he added.

Chelmsford, Colchester, Grays and Southend front counters would remain open and unchanged, the force added.

"Our three cities in our county have a front counter provision and actually we've looked at not only footfall but geographic spread within our county, so members of the public have got a choice of locations where to go to for wherever they live," ACC Hooper said.

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