South Wales Guardian Opinion (From South Wales Guardian)

South Wales Guardian Opinion

6:30am Wednesday 31st October 2012 in News

MOBILE police stations, regular community visits and a public information point at Ammanford town hall. Welcome to the brave new world of local policing – 2012 style.

Prime Minister David Cameron maintains the huge cuts facing police forces will not affect frontline services.

Which begs the question: what planet is he living on?

Yes, Dyfed Powys Police has to make huge savings, but it is quite simply a travesty to maintain that the alternatives to Ammanford police station’s front desk will represent improved services.

People are not stupid: they know they’ll get a substantially reduced service – and there’s absolutely nothing that can be done about it.

This is a downgrading of a police station – nothing more, nothing less.

But hang on. Amid all this talk of austerity we are in the midst of unjustifiably expensive (some would say pointless) Police Commissioner elections.

How many of us are even aware of these elections and howmany of us are going to cast our vote?

As Ammanford residents contemplate the loss of their police station’s front counter they will find it hard to understand the reasons for the cutback in the face of this costly election.

Police say findings from an internal review revealed that fewer people are attending stations. Couldn’t that be linked to the fact they are no longer in the heart of communities, but tucked away on some bleak industrial estate on the outskirts of town?