Victim's story spark to reopen police stations
Google- A Bude domestic violence victim's story is said to have inspired the move to reopen six police station front desks in Cornwall and Devon
- The region's police and crime commissioner said on a visit to Looe that reinstating the service was "critical" there
- The latest group of six stations will open by April 2024, with four more planned for the next financial year
The Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon and Cornwall Police said a crime victim's story prompted her to reopen police front desks in Devon and Cornwall.
PCC Alison Hernandez said hearing a domestic violence victim's story of a police front desk helping to save her life inspired the move.
She said for some victims seeing an officer face-to-face was "worth its weight in gold", and was "critical in a more isolated coastal town like Looe".
Ms Hernandez spoke about the motivation for reopening front desks as she visited Looe - one of six towns which will have its police station reopened by April 2024.
'Especially helpful'
Ms Hernandez said: "One of the reasons that fundamentally secured my view of reopening front desks was a mother in Bude who had been absolutely violently attacked by her husband...
"She grabbed her children and she walked to the police station when it was open, back in the day, and she felt that was an absolute pivotal moment where it saved her life."
Ms Hernandez said communities "deserved" these "places of safety" and it was therefore worth the cost.
In March she said £1.5m had been earmarked for investment in the project.
Plans are also continuing to open stations in Devonport, Okehampton, Honiton, Ilfracombe and Kingsbridge, with funding for four others in the following financial year.
Ms Hernandez said having the stations open in tourist destinations such as Looe would be "especially helpful during the summer months when crime levels in Devon and Cornwall increase by around 10%".
She said within the first few months of the last six front desks reopening, at least 2,600 people used the service.
These were in Tiverton, Newton Abbot, Truro, Penzance, Bude and Falmouth.
Will Kerr, Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police, said: “When not dealing with in-person inquiries, the newly-recruited police inquiry officers are able to respond to non-emergency contact, taking pressure off their colleagues in the control rooms.”
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