Hours slashed at police station enquiry office

The desk, which is used to deal with custody related matters, incident reporting, crime reporting, road traffic accident reporting, document production, and other general advice, has been open between 8am and 10pm seven days a week.

But starting this week, the desk at Peterborough’s main police station is now only open between 8am and 8pm on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, between 9am and 5pm on Monday and Saturday, and closed all day on Sunday.

A spokesman for Cambridgeshire police said the new hours were a temporary measure. He said: “The temporary hours have been put in place while we recruit new members of staff. The recruitment, vetting and training process can often take time which is why the temporary hours are in place until June. Staff retirement has prompted the need to recruit.”

The spokesman said it had not been a ‘desirable’ decision to leave the office shut on Sundays.

If residents need to contact the office when it is shut, they are advised to contact 999 in an emergency, 101 if it is not an emergency, or use a yellow phone located at the front of the police station.

Peterborough MP Stewart Jackson said he was concerned about the reduction in of a ‘visible police presence’ in the city.

He said: “I hope this is just a temporary measure as over the years the physical office presence of police in the city has sharply reduced. I will be speaking with Supt Dales (Peterborough police area commander) shortly to seek more information as easy access to a physical presence is important especially for victims and when reporting a crime.”

Sir Graham Bright, Cambridgeshire Police and Crime Commissioner said: I am aware of the temporary reduction in opening hours at Thorpe Wood, however it is important that we follow the correct recruitment process.

“Vetting and training takes time and we want to provide a quality service the people of Peterborough are used to.”