A RESTRUCTURE of Wiltshire Police’s front counter services will see opening hours slashed across the county, but a boost for Swindon with a new town centre point.

Front counter offices will lose a total of 89 hours across the week in Melksham, Salisbury and Trowbridge, but increase by five hours in Chippenham.

In Swindon, Gablecross police station will lose 31 hours across the week and close altogether on Sundays, but a new town centre counter, at Wat Tyler House, will provide 40 hours of service from Monday to Friday.

The changes have been made as part of the force’s attempts to reduce costs by £10 million over the next three years, with an expected £218,000 saving per year.

Supt Gavin Williams said: “Our officers are already embracing new ways of working using up-to-the-minute technology which is taking them out of the office and into the hub of the community.

“This is not just a technological shift but a cultural one too.

“More and more we’re bringing our services to the public rather than expecting them to come to us.

“People are seeing our officers in libraries, coffee shops and council offices, using laptops, tablets and other mobile devices which allows them to carry out their day-to-day tasks when they’re out and about, remaining visible and accessible to the public.”

The public will now be able have face-to-face contact with a member of staff at Gablecross between 8.30am and 5pm from Monday to Friday, and from 9am to 1pm on Saturdays.

At Wat Tyler House people will be able to make enquiries with the force between 9am and 5pm from Monday to Friday.

Supt Williams hopes the police’s presence, under the same roof as Swindon Borough Council, will enable to people to enjoy a one-stop shop for their queries, which might require a multi-agency response.

The police chief also reassured staff there would be no redundancies as a result of the decision, which will come into affect by November 30.

He said Wiltshire Police had been running with vacancies for some time, which would now be removed from the force’s budget structure.

Research by the organisation found eight of every 10 visits to the force were made in normal office hours, with almost all footfall outside these hours for custody purposes.

Supt Williams said anyone answering bail at Gablecross, appropriate adults collecting children and solicitors would be able to use free phones to call through to custody.

Angus Macpherson, Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon, said: “In my Police and Crime Plan I promised we would invest in mobile technology to enable officers to spend most of their time out and about and visible in their communities rather than tied to a computer in the police station. That technology is now being rolled out.

“To have five enquiry offices open for business during normal office hours and three of those open on Saturday mornings as well seems to me to be a good service at a time of austerity for those people wishing to have face-to-face contact.”

“We are also catering for people who want to use their phones to call us, and those with smart phones or tablets who want to contact us online.”