Conservative PCC candidate Festus Akinbusoye has announced that if he is elected as Bedfordshire’s next Police and Crime Commissioner in May 2021, he will create a number of new Police Contact Hubs in the larger market towns where there are currently no police stations or desks.
This initiative is in line with one of his key campaign pledges, to bring back policing into our communities.
Commenting on this initiative, Conservative PCC candidate Festus Akinbusoye said: “A key priority of mine if elected as PCC for Bedfordshire is to bring policing back into our communities so residents can talk to a police staff or community police officer in-person.
“By working with local partners and investing in these walk-in Contact Hubs, we can ensure residents and local businesses have a more positive experience of police service in our county.”
The Police Contact Hubs will be located in high visibility locations such as on the High Street, and will be staffed Tuesdays to Saturdays from 10am to 6pm.
Festus believes the new Police Contact Hubs will serve Bedfordshire residents in several ways:
- Provide visible police presence and reassurance in the communities.
- Create a welcoming space for community policing officers to meet residents.
- Report crime and provide intelligence
- Follow up on reported crimes
- Provide witness statements
- Hand in lost items
A similar space currently exists in Bedford Town Centre which is paid for through the local business district management. The new Police Contact Hubs proposed by Festus will be funded in partnership between the Office of Police and Crime Commissioner and local agencies.
The Police Contact Hubs is one of Festus’s response to the conversations he has had with residents across Bedfordshire, who frequently told him that when they have raised an issue with Bedfordshire Police, they got no response, there was no follow-up, they have no idea what has happened with the intelligence provided, and no one showed up to collect CCTV footage of a crime.
These Contact Hubs will therefore provide a solution to these problems while also placing policing in the heart of the community.
Commenting on this initiative, Conservative PCC candidate Festus Akinbusoye said:
‘By bringing policing closer to residents through our Police Contact Hubs, and investing in the retention of our officers, we will be able to improve our response to residents’ needs, whether it is an emergency, a complaint or following up on a crime report.”
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