Future of Sussex Police's services up for discussion

Ideas under consideration include drop-in sessions in libraries or shopping centres, a joint counter with other public agencies or even local businesses, or using the internet to make appointments to meet directly with local officers.

The consultation is being held to see how the force can improve its services at the same time as having to make savings.

Chief Constable Martin Richards said: “Many of our police stations are expensive to run and in inconvenient locations for the public. We have to think differently in these tough times. If we save money on inefficient buildings or those in inconvenient places, we will have fewer savings to find in other areas.

“So we may find different ways for the public to get in touch with us, for example by having regular drop-in sessions at community facilities, making more use of appointments or putting police contact points in local council buildings or even a local business.

“If we do decide to close a building that currently has a front office facility, we will not do so without making sure the local community has something else in its place as good as or better than that provided by the police station.

“People should also not assume this means smaller locations will lose out. We know how important it is for the community to have a police presence in their neighbourhoods.

“One of the considerations is to reduce the number of our most expensive, larger sites so we can protect or improve local contact.”