Hertford's new police station in Hale Road opens today, Monday 14th April 2008, as Herts Police's Eastern Division relocate from their Ware Road HQ - their base for over 40 years.

The station will be open daily to the public from 7.00am until 11.00pm. A broad range of police services will be based at the station including Neighbourhood officers, intervention teams and crime prevention staff. The senior officer who is based at the station will be the East Herts Chief Inspector Jon Speed.

Estates lead member for the Police Authority, Anne Wright, said: "This is a huge step forward in our plans to provide a higher visible police presence in Hertford, with the new site being far more accessible and conveniently situated near the town centre."

Chief Superintendent Al Thomas, Eastern Area Commander, said: “This is the start of a new era of policing in East Herts which will see services delivered from near the town centre in a state of the art facility designed for modern policing needs.

“The plans to migrate staff into Hale Road have been well conceived and there will be minimal or no disruption whilst the moves take place.”

To make the transition easier, the existing public enquiry office at the Ware Road Police Station will also be open until close of business on Monday 14 April.

The Eastern Division has been based in Ware Road since the mid 1960s when the Hertford and Ware police stations were closed. Prior to this Hertford police station was located in Castle Street. The building was briefly resurrected as a police station in the 1990s for the BBC comedy series The Thin Blue Line, starring Rowan Atkinson.