Bedfordshire’s police chief, Alf Hitchcock, is in Leighton on Monday night to be quizzed by the public over the virtual closure of the town’s police station.
It’s still not known if he will be joined by the area’s new Police Crime Commissioner, Olly Martins. Leighton-Linslade Town Council invited both men after a storm of protest from residents and councillors over the emptying of the Peel Court station in Hockliffe Road at a time when the town is suffering rapid expansion.
Since October 1 all of the town’s police officers have been based in Luton, leaving the traditional role of “bobbies on the beat” to a very small band of community officers who have no power of arrest.
The thin blue line has been caused by a major reshuffle in working practices aimed at saving £20m from police budgets.
The meeting, at Leighton Buzzard Theatre, Lake Street, starts at 7.30pm and is open to everyone.