Land Securities provides police base at St Johns

Merseyside Police has opened a city centre point of access shop on the ground floor of Land Securities' St Johns shopping centre in Liverpool.

The new community access point shop is being provided by the landlord with the rent paid for by businesses via Liverpool's city central Business Improvement District, for the next three years.

The city central BID team, which represents 630 businesses across 49 acres of Liverpool city centre, said the move will save council tax payers approximately £50,000 a year while offering them a direct point of contact with police in the heart of the city centre for the first time in more than six years.

The policing team moved into their new base over the weekend and are now opening their doors to the public.

The shop aims to make it easier for people living, working or visiting the city, to report crimes and provide quick responses to incidents such as lost children and allow officers to be more accessible.

Louise Harrison, Chief Inspector of Liverpool city centre, said: "Liverpool city centre was recently awarded the purple flag – a recognition for being one of the safest cities in the UK , which is reflected in the hard work of Merseyside Police and partners, the same partnership that has worked so hard to get this project up and running."

James Larmuth, portfolio manager at Land Securities, added: "We initially came up with the idea and following various meetings with the city centre Police team we developed a plan.

"We got the support of the city central BID team and so we were then able to join forces and invest in this excellent public service for the city centre. All city centre retailers will benefit from the enhanced police presence making Liverpool one of the safest and friendliest cities to visit."