Police sorry for leaving Rainham office unmanned days after protest
The office was unmanned just days after Rainham residents protested for better policing in the area - Credit: Archant
Police have apologised for not manning an office for two of the three hours a week it is advertised to be open.
Advertised opening hours - Credit: Archant
Amanda-Rose McKimmie, 41, needed to speak to officers in Rainham on Wednesday last week about a personal issue, but there was no-one there when she arrived at the Bridge Road office.
It is advertised to be open for just three hours a week – Wednesdays and Thursdays from 7-8pm and Saturdays from 2-3pm.
The next day after a community support officer (PCSO) told her it should be open that evening, she was “absolutely disgusted” to again find no-one there.
After calling 101, she was told police were unable to staff the station that night.
Amanda-rose said: “We only have three hours a week and they can’t even staff it for that.”
The news comes just days after Cllr Jeff Tucker led a protest over the lack of policing in Rainham, after residents complained of a rise in crime contrary to the official statistics.
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Police Insp Clare McCarthy said: “We have apologised to Amanda-Rose and there was a number of reasons it wasn’t staffed. We couldn’t get officers in but we are going to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
The Rainham team are now tweeting where they are regularly and members of the public can call 101 or the ward phone number 020 8649 3522.
