THE closure of Salisbury Police Station was a costly error of judgement.

In the recent past considerable investment had been made in the station: n The traffic department had been converted into a training centre.

- The top floor converted into offices to accommodate the increased administration.

- The custody facilities were completely overhauled with additional interview rooms equipped with the latest technology.

- The front office was renovated and made more user friendly.

- And most significantly £19 million was spent on providing Salisbury with a combined court centre, deliberately positioned close to the police station in Wilton Road.

Why was all this sacrificed?

I was present at the meeting in April 2014 when the Chief Constable explained that Salisbury’s police station had been sacrificed to enable Wiltshire Police to operate within its budget. The Chief Constable went on to pledge both his reputation and his career on the promise that Salisbury would have a new custody suite. We were shown plans of where the new custody suite was to be built.

Some of us were really struggling to see how it could make economic sense to “give away” a fully functioning and fully equipped custody centre and then build a new one from scratch. The suggested budget for the rebuild would have been sufficient to keep the existing facilities going for more than ten years!

I have used the expression “given away” because there was no attempt to get full market value for the police station site. It had been targeted as a site for a new technology college and all other considerations seemed to have gone out of the window.

There were obvious problems that even the temporary closure of custody facilities in Salisbury would create. The cost and time involved in conveying detainees to Melksham or Swindon and the fear that these factors would act as a disincentive to arrest. Further concerns were expressed that there were so few police officers on duty at any given time that relatively few arrests would leave the citizens of Salisbury without any officers.

We were told by the Chief Constable that all these issues had been considered and that provision had been made to ensure these problems were addressed.

If we move the clock forward a matter of six months we can now see: n The cost of replacing the facilities sacrificed by closing the police station had not been properly assessed.

- They cost of conveying prisoners from Salisbury to Melksham had been underestimated.

- The number of arrests made in Salisbury has fallen dramatically.

- The Chief Constable has come to the conclusion that closing the police station will not produce the budgetary custs he needs to make.

Nothing is gained by saying “I told you so” but it does seem to me to be an understatement to suggest that the Chief Constable of Wiltshire and the Police and Crime Commissioner have a very long way to go before they can demonstrate that they have the necessary skills and qualifications for the job they are required to do.

Our MP John Glen has been vocal in support of the citizens of Salisbury being given the facilities they deserve and need. I fear the decision makers within the police have been found wanting and have no solution to offer and that the “temporary problems” will now become permanent.

Richard L Griffiths

Richard Griffiths & Co Solicitors

Salisbury