Question
Regarding the decision to close a number of enquiry offices:
- Are these closures permanent?
- What is the rationale for closure?
- Is there a cost saving and if so, what is it?
- Were the offices populated by PSNI officers/staff or G4S?
- Are there implications for those who have to sign in on bail?
Answer
- The proposal is that closures are permanent, however, as with any decision, if the circumstances change in the future and there are clear indications that there is a justifiable need for Enquiry Offices to reopen or move location, this will be considered in line with our commitments to be a responsive, community-focused police service
As a consequence of the current financial and resource pressures being experienced within PSNI, it has been necessary to review services and costs and make savings in order to deliver a sustainable and effective organisation.
As a result of an extensive review, which included analysis of the volume and type of demand in Enquiry Offices, the decision has been taken to reduce the number of operational Enquiry Offices from 28 to 17. Our analysis showed that many of our Enquiry Offices had very little footfall and much of the demand that took place in Enquiry Offices was placed there by PSNI, for example the production of documents at a certain police station. It was determined that much of this demand was transferrable to other locations.
While this is not a decision we have taken lightly and we are conscious there may be an actual and/or perceived loss of accessibility, visibility and ability to
respond to the needs of the community, it is important that we continue to review service functions in terms of sustainability and cost effectiveness.
It is important to note that these stations are not closing. Officers and staff will continue to work from them serving the community and there will be no impact on station security. Members of the community will still be able to make pre- arranged appointments to meet officers and staff in these stations and any vulnerable member of our community will still be able to make contact with police online, through a text service or over the phone and request to meet police at a location that suits them.
Our analysis shows that even with the reduced arrangement, over 90% of households in Northern Ireland are within 15 miles of a station Enquiry Office. The average household is 10.7 miles from their nearest office (an increase of 4 miles) or 18.5 minutes by car (an increase of 1.5 minutes). We have also considered the location of the Enquiry Offices remaining open and their connection to public transport.
The current provision includes the opening of 28 Enquiry Offices at an annual cost of £1.2m. The proposed reduction to 17 Enquiry Offices results in a cost saving of 34%, or circa £408k.
There are also real and opportunity savings to be considered, which occur around the backfilling of gaps in service provision. When the contractor is unable to resource this function, it has to be backfilled by police officers during the advertised opening hours.
- Enquiry Offices are staffed by civilian Station Enquiry Assistants, employed under the Managed Service Contract. The current contract provider is G4S. As noted, when the contractor is unable to fulfil the requirement police officers will be utilised to maintain advertised Enquiry Office opening times, abstracting them from their core role, or occurring an overtime payment.
- There will be some requirement to alter bail conditions for people with existing reporting requirements and we will work with the Court Service to address these matters. Any future bail-signing requirement imposed by a court will refer to one of the operating Enquiry Offices. As with all bail conditions, the court will consider the proportionality of any new conditions imposed, or any request to alter conditions.
Mike Nesbitt - UUP