Two police stations' opening hours to be cut (From Witney Gazette)

Two police stations' opening hours to be cut

2:26pm Tuesday 7th March 2006 in Witney By Jo Duckles

POLICE station opening hours are to be slashed at two West Oxfordshire towns.

Carterton and Chipping Norton stations will see their hours cut back, a move which has provoked mixed feelings from town councillors.

Stations in Woodstock, Abingdon, Bicester, Didcot, Thame, Kidlington, Wallingford, Faringdon, and Wantage will stay open longer, following a Thames Valley Police review.

Police said the stations would be open for a total of 43.5 extra hours per week from April 10, but did not have a list of the current opening times.

Chief Supt David McWhirter, Oxfordshire police commander, said: "We can't find the records for the last time the official opening hours were published for Chipping Norton.

"That is the most contentious one, and it's going from 54 hours per week to 37. The 54 hours was only achieved by taking a police officer off the street.

"What we are talking about is the opening hours for front desks. That is entirely different to how many police officers are on duty at a particular station at a particular time."

Chief Supt David McWhirter, Oxfordshire police commander

"The average number of calls at Chipping Norton per day was just eight or nine. I acknowledge people want stations open 24/7, but demand doesn't warrant it and these are very hard decisions. We have recently transferred six police officers from the city to West Oxfordshire to boost numbers on the streets.

"What we are talking about is the opening hours for front desks. That is entirely different to how many police officers are on duty at a particular station at a particular time."

Don Davidson, Chipping Norton mayor, said: "Though we are not particularly happy, it does look as if the actual service provision is not going to be affected."

At Carterton, the station will be open from noon to 6pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and 10am to 4pm on Tuesdays and Fridays. At weekends it will be closed.

Brian Crossland, Carterton mayor, said: "I am disappointed. We had a conversation with the former chief constable six months ago, who said we could have the station open as long as we liked if we could get volunteers to run it. An advertisement for volunteers went out in our community magazine, but no one came forward."