Government ministers warned people feel 'unsafe' amid police station closures
Ministers have been warned people feel "unsafe on their own streets" with police stations around the West Midlands being shuttered - with more to follow in the coming years.
It comes after analysis showed more than 200 police stations and counters have been closed down in England and Wales in recent years.
Liberal Democrat chiefs said the figures, relating to the number of locations closed in the past seven years, equate to the loss of more than one site every two weeks.
Several police stations in the West Midlands have been closed down, with more expected to follow, under a series of cost-cutting measures by the police force.
The move has been spearheaded by the Police and Crime Commissioner for the region who has argued it was necessary due to harmful Government cuts over the years.
However opponents of the Labour commissioner have argued there needs to be a more visible police presence in towns and areas in a bid to deter rising levels of crime.
The figures, which the Lib Dems obtained under Freedom of Information laws, said a total of 217 stations and counters in England and Wales were shut from 2015 to 2021, with an average of 31 closures a year.
Stourbridge Police Station, off the town's ring road, was shut down in 2017. Sedgley Police Station, which will be converted into housing, was closed in October last year with officers moving to Dudley Fire Station as part of a shared-premises scheme. It had not been open to the public for some time before that.
Other stations, such as Walsall Police Station, served the town for around 50 years until it was closed in 2016 as a cost-cutting measure by the force.
And seven stations are expected to follow including Aldridge, which is earmarked to close in winter this year, and Wednesbury which will shut the following summer. Oldbury, Smethwick, Tipton and Wednesfield will follow in 2024 and 2025.
Brierley Hill is scheduled to close in Autumn 2024 and be replaced by a new 'super station', which is earmarked for land on Hall Street, Dudley.
Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster said: "The Chief Constable has put forward a set of proposals based on his impartial assessment of the estate he requires to effectively and efficiently police the West Midlands.
"The plans he has put forward will maintain the current number of publicly accessible front desks, keep local officers based in their communities and modernise the estate to make it fit for a 21st century police force.
"These plans will save money too, which will be re-invested in protecting essential police officer numbers to keep people and their families safe and secure. 100 officer posts a year rely on the £5 million savings from the estates programme. Without those savings officer numbers will fall further.
"Since 2010 West Midlands Police has lost £175 million, and even after recent and planned increases in officer numbers, we will still be missing 1,000 officers compared to a decade ago. I will protect police officer numbers, whilst calling on the government to return our 1,000 missing officers and provide a fair funding deal for the West Midlands."
Meanwhile the Liberal Democrats said London and the South East have seen a "staggering fall" in numbers, with Thames Valley Police closing the most sites with 23 stations and 44 counters.
Ahead of the local elections in May, the Lib Dems are promoting a three-point plan to crack down on crime and anti-social behaviour.
This would involve restoring "proper community policing", where officers are more visible, trusted and known personally to local people; and reversing cuts to youth services by investing an extra £500 million a year through a ring-fenced fund to local authorities, it said.
The party also wants to scrap police and crime commissioners and invest what it says will equate to £50 million in savings in frontline policing and solving crimes.
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said: "Shuttered police stations have become a symbol of the Conservatives' failure on crime. Too many people feel unsafe on their own streets, and too many criminals are getting away with it.
"The Liberal Democrats are calling for a return to proper community policing, where officers are visible, trusted and focused on cutting crime.
"This May people will have a chance to send Boris Johnson's Conservatives a message. A vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote for more investment in our police and youth services to help make our communities safer."
A Home Office spokesperson said: "The Government is already over halfway to recruiting an additional 20,000 additional police officers and the police are being given the powers, tools and funding they need to cut crime.
"It is the responsibility of locally elected police and crime commissioners and chief constables to take decisions around their resourcing and estates.
"However, police stations - which remain one of many methods where incidents can be reported - should be kept open where possible to ensure people feel safe in their communities."
