No public access to police stations in Suffolk Coastal

If you live in Suffolk Coastal, then you will no longer be able to go to a local police station to speak face-to-face with a police officer. The incumbent Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioner has recently announced* the closure of a number of police station front counters, leaving just three public access points in all of Suffolk. So if you live in Suffolk Coastal and you want to speak to the police in person, you will need to travel to Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds or Lowestoft.

Felixstowe Police Station... closing to the public. Woodbridge Police Station... closing to the public.

Back in December, Tim Passmore (the current Police and Crime Commissioner for Suffolk) told ITV News that "Many people contact us by email and mobile phone and there will be a 24 hour intercom service available".** That may be so, but it is hardly reassuring. This change dehumanises the relationship between the police and public, and raises barriers to communication.

If you want to read more about the changes already agreed for Suffolk policing, download the document Constables County: All Change For Suffolk from the website of the Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioner at http://www.suffolk-pcc.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Suffolk-Change-Constables-County-partner-version-2.pdf.

* http://www.suffolk-pcc.gov.uk/news/policing-in-suffolk-is-to-be-redesigned-to-meet-the-challenges-of-the-future [accessed 31 January 2016]

** http://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2015-12-04/suffolk-police-announce-major-cuts-whats-been-proposed/ [accessed 31 January 2016]