Rickmansworth police station to be extended

Police stations in Rickmansworth and Borehamwood, Hertfordshire are to be extended to make room for a record number of officers in Hertfordshire.

The fully operational stations accommodate hundreds of officers in the Three Rivers District Council and Hertsmere Borough Council Civic Centres in the towns.

For several years the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire David Lloyd has responded to public calls for more officers by increasing the Council Tax.

Now these officers, and others from the Government’s national police uplift programme mean extra space is needed.

Work will begin shortly to convert additional rooms at the offices for police use, including briefing rooms, storage facilities, locker rooms, secure taser storage and interview rooms.

The police moved to Three Rivers House, Northway, ten years ago, and to Hertsmere Borough Council officers, in Elstree Way, seven years ago, to enhance partnership working and achieve cost efficiencies.

Approving the funding for the stations Mr Lloyd, said: “Residents and business in Hertfordshire have told me that they want to see more officers on the streets, and this is tangible evidence of this is happening.

“Earlier this year the number of officers in Hertfordshire passed the historic high and more are still being recruited. It is vital we ensure the welfare of our officers and staff, and provide them with the facilities which enable them to do their work.

“These stations have hundreds of officers to serve their local communities including neighbourhood, emergency and detective teams. They are open to the public if you call ahead to make an appointment.”

Three Rivers Chief Inspector Alex Warwick, said: “We have already welcomed some new faces to our team recently and we’ll be doing so again next year, so we really welcome the news that our base here in Rickmansworth will be extended to accommodate our growing numbers.

“More police officers on the frontline means we can do even more to prevent crime, protect the public, apprehend criminals and work with our partners to ensure Three Rivers continues to be a safe place to live, work and visit.”

Hertsmere Chief Inspector, Mark Bilsdon, said: “It is great news that we will soon have more space here in Borehamwood to accommodate the increasing numbers of officers in Hertsmere.

In June Hertfordshire Constabulary had 2,212 officers, which surpassed the previous high of 2,202 in 2007.

At the start of the year Mr Lloyd decided to increase the policing precept by £1.25 per month for an average Band D council tax property. A large percentage of the additional £5.2m raised is paying for 77 extra officers, on top of the 90 who are being recruited as part of the government uplift.

These 167 new officers will increase the ranks to 2,267 by March 2022, with the final tally at the end of the uplift planned to be even higher with 2,314 officers in post by April 2023.