Shopping criminals could save your post office

[jemima]

This sounds like a good idea....

From
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1829032007

"GARETH EDWARDS
(gedwards@edinburghnews.com)

PEOPLE would be able to report minor crimes at post offices under a new scheme aimed at preventing a raft of closures across the Capital.

A link-up between Lothian and Borders Police and the post offices is being explored to use under-threat branches as the first point of contact for community officers.

As well as encouraging people to report crimes, it would also increase levels of business to city post offices, helping them fight the threat of closure.

The Royal Mail will begin consultation next year on local closures, as part of a programme of cutbacks which will see 2500 offices closed across the UK due to a lack of business. While no figures have been drawn up yet, the city council believes around 16 of the city's 80 branches could be identified for closure.

Of these, 34 have been identified as serving the most deprived areas of the city, with nine of these highlighted as vital providers of benefits and services for the elderly.

A report which is set to go before the council this week states that increasing council business to city post offices is unlikely, due to prohibitive costs and the fact that most council services are now being handled electronically, in response to customer preferences. And it suggests the police link-up may be the best way to help boost business.

The idea has been trialled successfully in Fife and the Borders, and police chiefs are said to back a similar scheme for Edinburgh.

Jim Inch, the council's director of corporate services, said: "

The full implications of post office closures for Edinburgh are currently unknown, as details of proposed closures will not be released by the Royal Mail Group until May next year."

Around six post offices in Fife now act as a point of contact with the local police, with services ranging from allowing people to report minor incidents such as small thefts, to receiving lost property and checking documentation.

Rawan Latif, who works at the Boswall Drive Post Office, said: "The idea of using the post office as a point of contact with the police is a very interesting one, and I think it's something most post offices would welcome."

A spokeswoman for Lothian and Borders Police said: "This idea has been tried in Fife and the Borders for several months and has been very successful, with a large number of people taking advantage of this extra facility, and broadly the idea of an extra point of contact with officers has been welcomed."

The report also highlights post offices in Calder Crossway, Craigmillar, Crewe Road North, Hay Drive, Muirhouse, Sighthill, West Granton, West Pilton and Wester Hailes, have been identified as the most vital to save from closure.

The council have pledged to work closely with the Royal Mail and Postwatch, the consumer watchdog for post office services, to try to ensure that vital city offices remain open.

A Post Office spokeswoman said: "The Government has recognised that fewer people are using Post Office branches, partly because traditional services, including benefit payments and other services, are now available in other ways, such as online or directly through banks.

"Post Office Ltd welcomes the involvement of local authorities and any feedback they have.""

[Carnoustie]

WHOOPEE

I'm stopping by tomorrow to report the theft of my pension