Ban On Police Hanging Around Stations

By Lindsey Hume, 13th January 2012, 16:00

A police inspector who bans his officers from hanging around stations during shifts is being hailed as a 'bit of a hero'.

According to the MP for South West Bedfordshire Andrew Selous, Inspector Frank Donnelly is proving it is possible to do more with less in the face of police budget cuts. 

Mr Selous went out on the beat with him last friday night and said: 'Inspector Donnelly is a bit of a hero. He runs these police station exclusion zones during the dark evenings when people's houses get hit by burglars.'

They visited three police stations which he describes as like 'ghost stations'.

'The officers were out on the streets where they should be patrolling, keeping an eye on the pubs and nightclubs'.

Inspector Donnelly who oversees stations in Leighton Buzzard, Dunstable and Biggleswade said: 'There are many legimate reasons for officers to be in police stations carrying out paperwork around prosecuting offenders. However, there is also a necessity to have officers out on the streets targetting known offenders in known hotspots and this is what we are doing. 

'It is proving to be effective, people are being arrested either before they have committed crimes or shortly after having committed crimes and there has been a noticable gradual reduction in crimes across the area.

'Being out is effective the criminals are out on the streets and the officers are out there too, along with the PSCO's and Special Constabulary.'

He and his sergeants will be keeping an eye on what officers are doing, making sure that they are out and about when they are not following up work in the station.