Kettering MP Rosie Wrighting calls for new police hub to bring 'visible policing back to the town'
Rosie Wrighting, MP for Kettering, has called for a publicly-accessible police hub in Kettering town centre to bring back 'visible policing’.
In an open letter to Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone, Ms Wrighting has asked for a new policing hub to be ‘considered’.
When the town's former London Road police station closed in 2017, members of the public had to use public police ‘desk’ housed within North Northants Council’s Bowling Green Road offices, currently temporarily open three days a week.
The Weekley Wood Justice Centre shared by police officers from Corby and Kettering just off the A43 on the outskirts of the town is not open to the public.
Ms Wrighting said: “I write to call for plans for a new public policing hub for Kettering town centre to be considered.
“While I recognise that the closure of the London Road station was during the term of your Conservative predecessor, I believe now is the time to bring visible policing back to the town by opening a new base that is accessible to everyone.
“Kettering is far too big a constituency to be without a public police station.”
Ms Wrighting is concerned at the number of violent or sexual crimes – 204 – reported in the Kettering Central policing ward in July 2024 alone with 51 in Rothwell and Mawsley, 48 in Wicksteed, 30 in Burton and Broughton, 24 in Desborough and 14 in Ise.
She said: “This is extremely concerning for my constituents. Residents should feel safe and part of that is knowing that there are police nearby. A town centre policing hub, making officers more visible, can help this Government's mission to take back our streets and reduce serious violence as well as provide reassurance to the public.
"The previous Conservative Government was soft on crime and I am encouraged by this Labour Government's commitment to introducing more neighbourhood police. I hope that, with both a Labour Government and a Labour Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, we can work together to bring about the change that Kettering needs and make the constituency a safer place.”
Speaking to the Northants Telegraph she said: “A police desk that is open to the public for a total of 18 hours each week is not good enough for my constituents. If we want to reduce crime and increase safety, visible policing must be boosted and having a town centre hub will help that."
Last week short-staffing forced the closure of Corby’s police counter to just two days-per-week, with the town MP Lee Barron saying it was ‘just not good enough’.
People answering bail at the facility inside Corby Cube had been met with a poster telling them to take a picture to prove they visited the counter and sign a piece of paper with the date and time put through the hatch.