ASHBOURNE’S police station will see its opening hours cut as part of an on-going wave of spending cuts.
The Compton enquiry office is currently open six days a week from 9am until 5pm on week days and from 9am until 1pm on Saturdays but this will be cut to 10am until 2pm on weekdays only.
The announcement comes as Derbyshire Constabulary looks at ways it can make up a £13 million budget deficit and bosses say Ashbourne’s reduced times, along with closures and reduced opening times at other offices in the county, will save them nearly half a million pounds year on year.
Assistant Chief Constable Dee Collins said: “We examined every single one of our enquiry offices and looked in detail at the services they provided and the number of visitors they received.
“It was clear that there was spare capacity across all sites and many of the smaller offices received a limited number of weekly visitors.
“The way we deliver services to the public has moved on greatly in the last few years and many of the things that enquiry offices used to be the first port of call for are being delivered elsewhere.
“Our contact management department is now the first point of contact for the vast majority of people who access our services via phone.
“It offers scheduled appointments for people to speak to a police officer at a time and location to suit them.
“A vast array of other inquiries such as those around firearms certificates for example, can be dealt with by dialling 101 and there is more information and guidance on the force website and on websites like Ask the Police.
“Following a review of all the enquiry offices it was very clear that many sites were simply not viable to be kept open both from an efficiency point of view and a financial one.
“This is not a decision we have taken lightly and I realise it is not going to be popular in some quarters but the fact of the matter is we have to make savings and deliver services that provide value for money.
“It was a difficult choice but we had to weigh up carefully between retaining buildings or retaining officers.” Ashbourne’s front counter service is one of 25 in the county and, as part of the “re-modeling” nine of the offices will be closed under the changes, which will start being implemented next month.
Offices are closing in Chapel-en-le-Frith, Dronfield, Killamarsh, Shirebrook, Staveley, Alfreton and Belper.
