I am becoming increasingly concerned about the state of rural policing; particularly in the Ribble Valley, but more generally across Lancashire. Over recent years we have seen the downgrading of Clitheroe from a fully functioning police station with a CID, Public Protection Unit, Community Safety Unit and dedicated management etc. to what is now just a base for a handful of PCSO’s and neighbourhood Police Constables. If you require an officer in an emergency they now report on and off duty at Colne, and are controlled from a single control room in Preston. (Have you tried explaining to a control room in Preston where one of our outlying areas is?). And of course we have seen the closure of Whalley Police station and the demise of Longridge.

The Police and Crime Commissioner's office are currently ‘consulting’ on whether to close the front desk at Clitheroe Police station. If this goes ahead, that will be it. It will close forever. Another important community asset gone. Another police building which will effectively exclude the public!

The Commissioner, Clive Grunshaw says that he is trying to manage the force in the wake of Government cuts, and I do have some sympathy for his position. I am a Conservative Councillor (and ex cop) and whilst I support the government attempting to get the public finances under control, I do think that we have now gone too far in terms of the damage that is being inflicted on our public services.

However, there is now no comparison in terms of what the public in the Ribble Valley pay and what they receive back in terms of policing. The Policing Precept on our Council Tax amounts to almost £4M. Add to this the proportion of our general taxation that goes to the police and I estimate the figure is at least double this amount. Are we receiving an £8M service? I don't think so!

This overstretched service is being tested even further by the policing arrangements around the fracking operations near Blackpool. The cost is almost £0.5M per month and is sucking in police officers from around the county, including the Ribble Valley.

At the same time crime in the Ribble Valley is rising. In the 12 months to April anti-social behaviour has risen by a whopping 35%, burglary by 10% and violence and sexual offences by 12.5%. It’s important to keep these figures in perspective. The increases are from a very low base, however they are too big and something needs to be done.

My Councillor colleagues and I hear every week of calls to the police that go unanswered, of reports of crimes that are not investigated and of telephone operators who are asking the public to investigate crime themselves. We hear of just one officer being on duty to cover the whole of the Ribble Valley and control room operators totally overwhelmed by the numbers of calls coming in.

We do our bit in the Ribble Valley. Not only are we paying huge amounts in tax, we also fully fund the Boroughs CCTV system, and we also contribute towards the pay of 2 of the PCSO’s. (This is a cost of over £120K per year).

The Council has made its position clear to the PCC. We want our front desk to stay open. I have had a commitment form the Chief Constable that the police will meet with us to discuss the issue. However, it is time for the PCC and the police to totally reconsider how they are policing our area. Put simply, it is not good enough.

Paul Elms
Councillor for Waddington, West Bradford and Grindleton
Deputy Leader Ribble Valley Borough Council
Deputy Chair Lancashire Police and Crime Panel