Police numbers in Wolverhampton could double after station refurb
The number of police in Wolverhampton could almost double to 900 once the city's main police station has been refurbished.
Wolverhampton Central police station is set to close in 2023 for a multi-million pound refurb that is likely to take more than a year to complete.
And once it reopens the number of officers and staff based at the Bilston Street site will potentially rise from 500 to 900, West Midlands Police has confirmed.
It comes after the Express & Star revealed the force is in talks with Wolverhampton Council over moving police into the authority's Civic Centre headquarters for the duration of the works.
The boost in numbers would see the station, which was opened by Princess Diana in 1992, cement its role as one of the region's main police bases.
Wolverhampton South West MP Stuart Anderson, has welcomed the plans. He said: "Crime is a huge issue in the city and it would be fantastic to see police numbers go up.
"Our police carry out extremely important work and they deserve a state of the art police station."
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster announced the refurb in his latest estates plan.
A spokesman for his office said there were currently around 500 officers and staff based at Wolverhampton Central – a figure which could potentially rise to 900 once the work is complete.
No time scale has yet been set, with Mr Foster saying only that the station would not reopen until winter 2024 at the earliest. The force is said to be keen to get started on the work next year.
Police numbers in the West Midlands have shot up since 2019 amid a Government-backed recruitment drive for 1,200 extra officers. The force now has around 7,200 officers on its books.
Mr Foster has called for extra funding to double the number of new recruits.
