FOI/3 - Estates
Thank you for your email received on the 2 February 2025 in which you made a request for access to certain information which may be held by Northumbria Police.
As you may be aware the purpose of the Act is to allow a general right of access to information held at the time of a request, by a Public Authority (including the Police), subject to certain limitations and exemptions.
We have now had the opportunity to fully consider your request and we provide a response for your attention.
Following receipt of your request, searches were conducted with the Estates, Business Services and Communications Departments of Northumbria Police. We can confirm that the information you have requested is held by Northumbria Police.
We are able to disclose the located information to you as follows.
You asked:
Data is requested from 2014 to the present if available. If data is not available from 2014, please provide information from the earliest year for which data is available, and state that year.
A police station is defined as any building where officers and staff are permanently based.
1. Between 2014 (or the earliest year from which data is held) and 2024, how many police stations have closed in your force?
20.
2. Of the police stations that were closed, how many had front counters open to the public?
12.
20.
2. Of the police stations that were closed, how many had front counters open to the public?
12.
3. Between 2014 (or the earliest year from which data is held) and 2024, how many police stations have opened in your force area?
23.
23.
4. Of those police stations that were opened, how many had front counters that still remain open to the public?
12, however there have been subsequent closures of front offices from the date of opening.
5. Where stations with front counters closed and were either closed completely or not replaced by a new station with a front counter, what was mainly the rationale for this?
Following COVID a decision was made to keep some of our front offices closed, this decision making was informed by footfall data, with the stations that were closed showing evidence of inefficient use.
However, as a force we have invested millions into public contact, understanding we needed to improve in this area, working to create a strategy that improved our ability to respond to the public, ensuring we could be there when the public needed us to be while providing improved choice and reporting options. Following the closure of some front offices we have significantly improved our contact routes, creating direct contact through the Northumbria Police webpage, web chat options, social media reporting and improved text/email services. In addition we recruited more staff to support more timely and supportive responses. Throughout areas in which the front offices remained open we reviewed our provision, this resulted in some stations seeing extended opening hours, also upon review, we reopened Etal Lane and Whitley Bay (as a customer touch point).
We always look to understand gaps in our service, filling these gaps creatively and efficiently where and when required. As mentioned public contact remains a priority for Northumbria Police, and where we have closed some front offices we have always reinvested into wider growth and modern methods, that bring improved choice and ability to respond.
6. Does your force have any plans to close front counters in the future?
We are always reviewing how we can ensure the very best customer choice, accessibility, and value for money, while ensuring our provision is modern and in tune with the needs of the communities we serve. We are always looking to enhance the service we provide at the front end and while we do not currently have any plans to change our front office provision in the immediate future this position may change over the coming years. We are working hard to understand what the public want and need, enabling us to be there when they need us and in the most suitable and sustainable way.
The face of public contact has changed significantly in the past five years, and we envisage as technology improves and as we see further generational changes we may see the front office profile change/evolve further.
7. Does your force have any plans to open front counters in the future?
12, however there have been subsequent closures of front offices from the date of opening.
5. Where stations with front counters closed and were either closed completely or not replaced by a new station with a front counter, what was mainly the rationale for this?
Following COVID a decision was made to keep some of our front offices closed, this decision making was informed by footfall data, with the stations that were closed showing evidence of inefficient use.
However, as a force we have invested millions into public contact, understanding we needed to improve in this area, working to create a strategy that improved our ability to respond to the public, ensuring we could be there when the public needed us to be while providing improved choice and reporting options. Following the closure of some front offices we have significantly improved our contact routes, creating direct contact through the Northumbria Police webpage, web chat options, social media reporting and improved text/email services. In addition we recruited more staff to support more timely and supportive responses. Throughout areas in which the front offices remained open we reviewed our provision, this resulted in some stations seeing extended opening hours, also upon review, we reopened Etal Lane and Whitley Bay (as a customer touch point).
We always look to understand gaps in our service, filling these gaps creatively and efficiently where and when required. As mentioned public contact remains a priority for Northumbria Police, and where we have closed some front offices we have always reinvested into wider growth and modern methods, that bring improved choice and ability to respond.
6. Does your force have any plans to close front counters in the future?
We are always reviewing how we can ensure the very best customer choice, accessibility, and value for money, while ensuring our provision is modern and in tune with the needs of the communities we serve. We are always looking to enhance the service we provide at the front end and while we do not currently have any plans to change our front office provision in the immediate future this position may change over the coming years. We are working hard to understand what the public want and need, enabling us to be there when they need us and in the most suitable and sustainable way.
The face of public contact has changed significantly in the past five years, and we envisage as technology improves and as we see further generational changes we may see the front office profile change/evolve further.
7. Does your force have any plans to open front counters in the future?
As per the above we are working to ensure our reporting channels have the most impact and in the most efficient way continues to be a priority for us at Northumbria Police. We work to ensure our engagement with users is impactive and relevant and comes with choice while being as accessible as possible. In 2024 we trialled a series of "pop up" front offices, taking officers out and about into high volume areas engaging and reassuring our communities. This worked well and helped us to ensure that we could be targeted, agile and flexible in the service we offered.
We assume we will see improved presence over the coming months/years but not necessarily in the guise of traditional front office. Also to note we work closely with national policing working groups, the National Police Chiefs Council and the College Of Policing to ensure we are considerate of the best and most effective ways of supporting our communities.