Calling for Penrith Police Station to open hours

A Penrith man who says he helped a woman access support at Penrith’s Hunter Lane police station while its front desk was closed has called for the station’s opening hours to be extended to better serve the community.

Cumbria Police have responded, confirming their commitment to community policing and urging victims of crime to phone 999 at the first opportunity.

Stephen Barton, 71, was walking past the station on a Saturday morning before Christmas when he spotted a woman in distress trying to get help. The station’s front counter was closed to the public at the time, although the station had officers inside.

“This lady could not get access to the police,” said Mr. Barton. “She wanted to talk to a police officer and she couldn’t. She stood on the steps, crying, shaking. I couldn’t pass, so I turned to her and said ‘Can I help?’ “

The woman told Mr. Barton that she had been assaulted and robbed and had been unable to get an answer after knocking on the door of the police station.

“I took her around the side door, knocked on the side door. Still no answer. Walked around on the back, patted on the back. Come around to the side. Banged on all the windows and finally a Bobby put his head around the door. I explained to him that this young lady had been assaulted and robbed.

“And she couldn’t get in because the door was locked. He took her in and I left it at that. But it bugged me that she was so unhappy that she wanted to go away, which is wrong. “

The front counter at Hunter Lane Police Station reopened to the public in 2023. According to Cumbria Police’s website, it is now open from 9 to 13 Monday to Friday. Mr. Barton believes that the opening hours of the counter should be improved, taking into account the station is in regular use by officers.

“I don’t see any reason why, if the station is staffed, why that front door shouldn’t be open. I think the door should be open. I think they could increase the opening hours. I think it should be open on weekends. I think it should be open seven days a week. “

The reopening of Hunter Lane was against a trend of closing local police desks in the county, including counters in Cockermouth and Windermere, which were closed in 2020 and have been.

Following the Herald’s request for an update, a spokesman for Cumbria Police said: “If you are the victim of a serious crime, call 999 immediately.

“Police officers in Cumbria work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If you call 999, your call will be answered and you will speak to a police officer within seconds. An officer will then be able to deal with the incident immediately rather than waiting for someone to attend a police station to report the matter. “

During opening hours, the spokesman added: “The Constabulary is constantly adapting to meet the changing behavior of the public.

“In 2014 the Constabulary saw the front counters exploited more than 100,000 times. By 2022, that number had dropped to around 13,000—and a high proportion of the visiting front counters did so for a non-political purpose.

“People are now less and less likely to try to get to a police station to report a matter. However, we are still keen for those who wish to speak to the police in person to have the opportunity to do so.

“This has seen the reintroduction of the front counter, open to the public, on Hunter Lane in recent years. Previously this had not been the case.

“This was reopened because significant investment has been made in Hunter Lane as a main installation base with response, precinct, CID and intelligence officers working from there.

“Cumbria Police is committed to neighborhood policing, which remains firmly at the core of the organisation.”