Police stations 'need makeover'

The report also recommends the return of the police box

Police stations need to overhaul their interior design to make the public feel more welcome, a think tank says.

The Institute for Public Policy Research said friendlier, open-plan offices were needed to avoid police stations seeming like "fortresses".

A modern version of police phone boxes - the model for Dr Who's Tardis - should be considered to improve relations with the public, it added.

It said stations had become "run down" as funding was spent elsewhere.

The left-wing think tank's associate director Ben Rogers said: "At present, the police station feels more like a fortress or prison than a benefit to the community.

"There needs to be nothing short of a revolution in the design of police buildings."

The reception area of most modern police stations... could scarcely be less hospitable Ben Rogers IPPR

He admitted Victorian-era police stations with their blue lamps were "world-recognised icons" and "exemplary pieces of branding".

But most police stations had the potential to intimidate the public, the report suggested.

Mr Rogers continued: "The reception area of most modern police stations is often the only public space at all and could scarcely be less hospitable.

"They generally take the form of a small boxed room with inadequate seating in the form of metal benches.

"Police staff are separated from the public by one or sometimes two glass screens.

"People need to feel comfortable and willing to contact the police, whether to report a crime, submit a driving licence or complain about anti-social neighbours."

Community officers

Police stations had become run down, particularly over the last five years as money for infrastructure had ceased to be ring-fenced.

And the report - Re-inventing the Police Station - said the police could bring back call boxes, inspired by Japanese "kobans".

The kiosks are manned 24 hours a day by community officers who are expected to regularly visit the homes in their area.

British police boxes started to be phased out in 1959 with the advent of two-way radio.

Other ideas in the report included open days, competitions to design new stations, and removing glass screens in receptions.

Among the best examples of Victorian and Edwardian stations was Manchester's London Road station, the report said.