The move to cut the hours of three police stations is by no means a first in Sussex.

The first cuts were as far back as the Twenties when district offices were relinquished to make way for police boxes, like Doctor Who's Tardis, which the police and public could use for routine and emergency calls.

Communicating with your local bobby became harder still in the late Sixties when the familiar pillars were replaced with police radios.

Technology has played its part in reducing localised policing ever since.

Brian Stockham, chairman of the Sussex Police Federation, who has been in the force for about 30 years, remembers when everything was more face-to-face and localised.

"I recall years ago how police stations opened throughout the night and there used to always be someone in the front office.

"Over time there has been an increase in civilian police staff so it has become more of a rarity to walk into a station and meet a police officer."

He said there was consternation about 20 years ago when officers began to be deployed from three central Sussex centres instead of being instructed by local chiefs. He said: "There was something of a hue and cry because it meant that local people were not deploying resources locally and there was a question mark over whether police had enough local knowledge.

Modernisation "Now there is touch-screen technology to show officers the location in detail and other measures to get police officers out from behind desks and out on patrol."

Although the funding cuts from the Government have continued unabated, the last chief constable to take police away from their public was Paul Whitehouse.

Under his "smaller, better, different"

strategy to modernise the force, stations were shut and opening hours shortened.

Recognising where this had led Sussex in terms of the public's fear of crime, the next chief, Ken Jones, made sweeping changes in 2003, bringing the visible police presence back - for good, it seems.

Sussex Police undertook a full review of its public services and introduced longer, more consistent opening hours - by 20,000 hours per year.

In Selsey, the station was opened to the public for the first time and in Peacehaven the closed counter was reopened.

Mobile police stations were created to reach rural communities and front offices were upgraded to be more welcoming.

A new police station in Hollingbury, Brighton, was the first to be opened in 30 years and smaller police stations were reopened in Wealden.

Deputy Chief Constable Geoff Williams admits the public are no longer greeted by a police officer but said the new Police Neighbourhood Support Officers (PNSOs) provide a professionalised service allowing officers to get out and beat crime.

He said: "They are fully trained and can provide victim updates, take statements and deal with telephone inquiries."

The force would argue the changes have done the trick - and there is no denying the statistics. Sussex Police continues to climb the crime-fighting league tables for forces in England and Wales. So news that stations in East Grinstead, Burgess Hill and Haywards Heath were to open later made councillors and police fearful there would be a return to the bad old days.

Superintendent Grenville Wilson said they need not worry. He said: "This has been planned for some time and is not driven by the current funding challenge. It allows us some consistency of public access across the division."

For the first time the police have also given their express commitment to keep all police stations open. And they promise not to reduce opening hours further despite the £9.4 million gap.

Mr Williams said: "Funding is a challenge for us but we have taken the decision that we won't reduce opening hours or close stations. It's not on the agenda.

"We're consulting and by June we want to have firm proposals to employ from April 2008. The areas which will not be affected are staffing and service to the public. It's more likely to be procurement practices and IT."

Mr Stockham said: "It is galling to think we are 304 officers down on the average for county forces, against our population. But we are performing well and our officers have never worked harder for their public.

"We know if we had those extra officers we'd be much stronger. Whatever the advances in technology, what the public most want is a police officer there with them to solve whatever problem they have."

Jim Marshall, 90, who was head of Sussex CID in the Sixties and Seventies, said: "They could do with more money.

Their job has become harder than ever."

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