Nottinghamshire PCC Paddy Tipping dropped into West Bridgford to meet the neighbourhood policing team and visit the new Customer Service Centre on Gordon Road.
The PCC was joined by Insp Craig Berry and PCSO Jane Barker before meeting Rushcliffe Borough Council Leader Simon Robinson JP at the council’s new Service Centre.
The centre enables residents to access key council services as well as contact Nottinghamshire Police via an indoor and outdoor phone and computer terminal, and connect to a variety of local partners.
After plans to close West Bridgford Police Station were announced, local policing teams are preparing to relocate to West Bridgford Fire Station on Loughborough Road in the coming weeks to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs as well as maximise opportunities to work in partnership. The current police station is much larger than required, with large parts of the building vacant, and was no longer economically viable.
Mr Tipping said: “Accessible, visible policing is at the very heart of everything we do. The new customer service centre provides local people with the facilities they need to contact the police in the way they want and the arrangements appear to be working very well.
“Operationally, our police officers and CID teams are ideally positioned within the Fire Station to respond to crime and harm while increasing opportunities for the services to work in collaboration.
“We are always looking to maximise our efficiency and effectiveness to protect the frontline and this means making sure all the buildings we occupy deliver value to our services.
“Police officers are already spending increasing amounts of time on patrol in the town thanks to the adoption of mobile technology and together with our partners we will continue to do everything possible to make West Bridgford safer.”
Rushcliffe Borough Council Leader Cllr Simon Robinson said: “Rushcliffe’s new Customer Service Centre in West Bridgford is your one stop shop for local services and is now based in an even more accessible location on one of our great bustling high streets.
“We’re pleased that local residents can still touch base with Nottinghamshire Police here at the Centre, a service we know that can be vital to those across our communities who may not be able to access services in other ways.”
Inspector Craig Berry, the local neighbourhood policing inspector for Rushcliffe borough, said: “Nottinghamshire Police is committed to maintaining a visible policing presence in the communities it serves.
“This new shared front counter will enable the public to continue to access police services in a prominent position in West Bridgford town centre, while creating yet more opportunities for us to work alongside our fire service colleagues in the town.”
Following the visit, the Commissioner joined the local neighbourhood policing team in offering crime prevention advice to residents in nearby Cambridge Road following a recent spate of burglaries in the area.
PCC Tipping joined Chief Constable Craig Guildford, Inspector Berry and the local beat team as they visited residents to promote the force’s new neighbourhood policing priority survey which gives the public the opportunity to have their say on policing priorities in their area.
To have your say on policing priorities in your area, visit www.nottinghamshire.police.uk/whatmatters