Thin blue line gets thinner in Shropshire

Mr Shaw said he 'fully understood' closing stations in Ellesmere, Albrighton and Ironbridge would be a concern for the public but insisted improved efficiency will mean policing standards do not fall.

He said: "If I went home and spoke to my wife or child and told them their local police station was to close they would be shocked and worried.

"It is really important that we do not hoodwink people. Across West Mercia there is going to be fewer police bases – we have 30 at the moment but we are moving to 11.

"What we are talking about here are officers who respond to 999 calls. At the moment the teams are very small, we want fewer teams with more members which can then be more flexible with how they respond.

"Fewer teams will mean closer supervision. If you have 30 bases you cannot have a sergeant or an inspector in every base. Working from 11 bases you can – that is a real win for us.

"We have to cut £20 million from our budget by 2015. I'm not going to pretend to everyone that something doesn't have to give. This is the best model that we can come up with. We are closing stations to save £1.5 million every year which gives the force 30 more police constables or 50 more PCSOs. Buildings do not provide protection – officers do."

Alongside the three closures a smaller policing post in Donnington Mill in Telford will also close.

Meanwhile the stations in Cleobury Mortimer, Craven Arms, Shifnal, Whitchurch and Newport will be closed to the public and converted into community policing posts.

Stations at Bishop's Castle, Bridgnorth, Ludlow, Much Wenlock and Tenbury Wells will move to new sites.

Mr Shaw said Shropshire appeared to be one of the areas most affected by the changes with three full closures and six other stations being closed to the public.

He said: "Shropshire appears to be more affected more than other places because in 2003/2004 when local policing was introduced more stations were opened in Shropshire than anywhere else.

"But what I fundamentally believe is that we need people on the streets not a building in every town or village.

"What I really want to stress is that we have tried very hard to keep police stations where it is really important to do so.

"In Shropshire officers will be deployed from Market Drayton, Oswestry, Shrewsbury and Telford. What the public need to know is that if they call 999 someone will come and we will come quickly with officers that are well trained and equipped to do a professional job. We will still be able to do that."

Mr Shaw stressed the proposed closures have been drawn up around a police force which will be more efficient.

He said: "This is big, complex stuff but I think it will work really well. We are investing in technology and officers are going to have much better equipment.

"Rather than heading back to their base the improved technology will allow officers to stay out while the policing posts will give officers somewhere to work while they are out.

"The combination of keeping officers out longer, the use of mobile data, closer leadership and tasking what we want officers to do will lead to a more efficient force.

"We are going to make the best use of what we have got, then we will listen very hard to see if we get it right. I think in most areas we will and I am happy to admit there may be areas where we have to look at this again."

Mr Shaw confirmed that town's whose stations are to be replaced with a community policing post are likely to be in different premises to the current police station. He said: "Most stations will move. If it is too big or it costs too much money to run we will move. There is one building, which isn't in Shropshire, which will cost £170,000 next year just to keep it running.

"If something is old and crumbly do I want to spend the money to restore it? No I don't. It makes perfect sense to move and find something more appropriate.

"I also want people to know all the transitions will be seamless. We won't just pull out of a station and in the next 18 months find somewhere else. We will make sure a new home is found before we change."

Buildings that are to be closed will be sold or if leased will not be renewed.

Mr Shaw added: "I don't want people in towns and villages which are losing stations to think we do not care about them. These areas will still be very high on our list of priorities. They may not have a police station in its present format but that does not equate to policing standards at all, far from it."

Back in June 2012 West Mercia and Warwickshire police forces announced they were to cut 650 jobs to save £30 million from their budgets.

However, Mr Shaw said the proposals put forward yesterday would allow the force to hold on to an extra 45 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs).

Police and crime commissioner Bill Longmore stressed the changes are now open to public consultation. He has organised two public events which people can attend to find out more about the plans The first will be at Shropshire Food Enterprise Centre, in Battlefield Enterprise Park, Shrewsbury, on February 28.

This will be followed by a meeting at the Worcester Whitehouse Hotel, in Foregate Street, Worcester, on March 5. Both meetings start at 1pm. Mr Longmore said: "I hope people understand the very difficult financial situation the police are in, and that changes have to be made to make better use of the funding that's available.

"I would urge people to contact me or come along to one of these public events, because I am eager to hear what you think – I am listening.

"It's important that we look at every aspect of the service to see where efficiencies can be made, and I think most people would agree that it's more of a priority to have officers on the beat rather than paying for the upkeep of lots of police stations. By looking at the police estate we can save £1.5 million, which is the equivalent of 30 police constables or 51 PCSOs.

"Having said all that, I do appreciate that people value their local police station so we will be carefully considering all the factors before any decisions are made."