Letter: Police stations never used to close over Christmas

Letter: I found it to be a rather sad sign of the times to read of Powys police opening times for their front desks at stations over the festive holiday. Most of their stations were closed for four days and one can only assume that the buildings were empty.

Like many other retired officers I recall the time 20 years ago when the closure of stations was virtually unheard of. They were open to the public, who would be seen by an officer.

For most of the time stations now are closed with entrance gained via an external link. Once admitted the public are usually dealt with by a civilian employee behind a protective barrier.

Are they scared of something or is this health and safety gone mad?

Many incidents of concern to individuals are now looked upon as too trivial to merit police action.

With budget cuts of more than £7 million over the next four years and the loss of up to 350 jobs, the public have been warned of a "significant reduction" in the number of "bobbies on the beat", which is an anomaly in itself.

For many years the public have been only too aware that to see a police officer "on the beat" is as rare as chicken's teeth.

Even serious occurrences now involve community support officers or traffic wardens.

These officers were initially introduced to free up trained police officers for main duties.

Now they are used for tasks they were never intended, or trained, to do. In consequence they are rarely seen on the streets.

The Government now realises that the costs involved for all forces employing PCSOs far outweigh their usefulness and achievements.

Bernard Jones

Powys