EXCLUSIVE: Stafford's Civic Centre could host police in wake of front desk closure

Staffordshire Police is closing all its front desks across the county bar three – Cannock, Burton and Longton – putting 38 jobs at risk. Police officers will continue to operate out of the affected stations with no plans to close any altogether.

Stafford is set to be left without a front desk with the town's station closing its doors to the public, but it is understood the force has been in contact with Stafford Borough Council about having some form of police presence at the Civic Centre building.

This would alleviate the loss of the police station's front desk and help maintain a visible presence in the town. Staffordshire Police has denied that this would be a new front desk.

Stafford Borough Council leader Patrick Farrington confirmed his council 'has been and continues to be in discussion with the police around their continued presence in Stafford'.

He said: "It is important that the police do have a visible presence in towns. My cabinet and I work very closely with Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis and his team and we also have a strong working relationship with Chief Constable Gareth Morgan.

"At a more local level we have regular meetings with Gemma Ward, the local police commander for Stafford. We have very regular and ongoing briefings and discussions about all sorts of things.

"As far as I am concerned the relationship with the police in the Stafford Borough is a strong one."

A spokesman for the council added: "The Civic Centre currently hosts services from other agencies – such as the health service and Staffordshire County Council.

"Our programme of using the Civic Centre as a base to co-locate key services has proved very successful - although introducing future organisations would require reconfiguration of the building.”

Stafford MP Jeremy Lefroy said he was 'concerned' about the closure of Stafford police station to the public but added he was going to seek clarity from the PCC.

Staffordshire Police said it is closing front desks across the county as the number of people using them has fallen dramatically.

The force also claimed the closure of office counters will not affect local policing, with the public able to meet their local officers at drop-in surgeries, police posts and other locations in their communities.

A spokesman said: "At present there are no plans for any front counter service to be based alongside partners elsewhere in Stafford. However, each neighbourhood policing team has a calendar of events and locations where officers and PCSOs are available to speak first-hand to the public about the issues affecting their communities. This includes drop-in and online surgeries, supported by ‘hotspot’ patrolling based on community feedback.

"As previously announced, front office counters for the public will be open at three locations across the force. These will be at Burton, Cannock and Longton which provide good levels of accessibility to people across the county. These changes have not yet come into effect. For current opening times and locations please visit our website."