Mayor of Kettering opens new enquiries desk

The Mayor of Kettering has officially opened Northamptonshire Police’s new enquires desk at Kettering Borough Council’s headquarters.

Superintendent Andy Cox also joined the Mayor, Councillor Duncan Bain, at the facility’s opening, with the headquarters located at Bowling Green Road.

Councillor Bain stated: "We now have a centre here for all kinds of things. We've got things like blood testing services and council services, so it makes sense to have the police here too. It's a win-win situation.”

It was announced in December 2014 by the police there were plans in place to relocate the front desk to the neighbouring council building from the Kettering police station.

The main aim of the relocation is to improve the force’s visibility in the town in relation with the police’s Futures Programme, which was created to ensure policing was at the core of the community in Kettering.

Supt Cox stated: "There was a bit of a sterile feeling around the old front desk at the police station and it wasn't particularly user friendly.

"Here, the footfall is much greater. Even though we were in the town centre previously, we're finding that we're far more accessible and more people are coming to see us."

A select few of police staff have been shifted to the council’s headquarters as a result of the relocation, however, Kettering Police Station will continue as a functioning centre for police officers and support staffs, which mean no changes will take place there.

A move comparable to this took place in Northampton in February 2014, when the public enquiry desk was relocated to Northampton Borough Council’s One Stop Shop at the Guildhall from Campbell Square.

Talking about the upsides of relocating to a more predominant site, as well as functioning with the council, the District Commander for Northampton, Supt Mike Stamper, stated: “Since moving our front desk to the Guildhall, we've seen an increase in the number of visitors and people have told us they would have been unlikely to visit a police station, but feel much more comfortable going to a multi-agency building.

“I’m really encouraged by the positive response we've had and believe the move has proved we can provide a quality service to the public without being based in a traditional police station.”

By Matt Hamblin