Key Principles and Recommendations

Our goal is to have an efficient police estate which operates at a reduced cost and meets the needs of the communities of North Wales and modern policing.

We appreciate that within it there are some significant changes which may be of concern for communities, and we want to know about your concerns so we can discuss them with you. We recognise that some of the recommendations may be unwelcome, however we ask our communities, in considering their response to this consultation to appreciate that the aim of reviewing our estate is to try and safeguard as many police officer and staff roles within the organisation and maintain front line policing service as much as possible.

We are aware that people value police stations and see them as a source of reassurance, however, we also appreciate from what you told us during the Consultation on the Future of Policing in North Wales, that it is the service that you value the most, and as servants of the community we have listened to those views in planning for the future.

At present North Wales Police has 49 police stations, nine of which are response hubs. These 40 stations which are not response hubs are located in towns and villages across the region and generally accommodate Neighbourhood Policing Teams made up of Community Beat Managers (CBMs) and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) who work in the local communities to address local issues and tackle anti-social behaviour.

The stations in North Wales vary considerably in size, age and type from modest buildings many of which are former residential dwellings in the smaller towns and villages to much larger stations in busier localities. Some of the larger stations provide a front counter service for public enquiries. The Review has identified that some of these buildings are, to a greater or lesser degree, no longer operationally required, or are under-utilised, costly and generally not fit for purpose. This means that the service to the public can be delivered more economically and efficiently from elsewhere.

The modern police service has changed tremendously during the last two decades. The image of a local police station being occupied by a local police officer 24hrs a day is no longer the reality of a modern service, nor has it been for some considerable time. The police estate must reflect this.

The consequences of reducing the cost of our policing estate could mean that we potentially save North Wales Police from losing a further 30 police officers. 

People may feel that closing a police station means a loss of a policing service. But the reality is often that the service can be delivered equally well from a different location. If we are to maximise the number of police officers and support staff working in North Wales we need to reduce our other costs. It is therefore a choice between people and property: we want to move towards a more efficient and cheaper estate so that we can retain more people.