THE enquiry office at Woodbourne Police Station on the Stewartstown Road is to close on August 1.
Enquiry offices at stations at Tennent Street in North Belfast, Lisburn Road in South Belfast and Strandtown in East Belfast will also close. The closures, which were announced in April, have now been confirmed and are due to the current financial and resource pressures facing the PSNI.
A total of 11 police station enquiry offices across the North will close. The PSNI have stressed they are not station closures and each of the police stations affected will remain operational.
These ‘front counters’ are operated by Station Enquiry Assistants (SEAs), employed by a third party private sector contractor as part of a managed services contract.
Assistant Chief Constable for Local Policing, Bobby Singleton said: "This decision follows an extensive review which included analysis of the volume and type of demand in enquiry offices.
"This review concluded that against the backdrop of wider resource challenges, the current service is neither sustainable nor effective.
“This is not a decision we have taken lightly, however, the PSNI is facing unprecedented financial pressure and savings are necessary to deliver a sustainable and effective organisation.”
