NEW opening hours for the enquiry offices at police stations in Enniskillen and Lisnaskea will take effect from next week, it has been announced.

As of Monday, April 3, the two local enquiry offices will be open between 11am and 7pm from Monday to Friday, with a half-an-hour closure for lunch between 3pm and 3.30pm.

Announcing the revised opening hours, the PSNI said that the “evolving digital footprint” meant that people no longer needed to visit police station enquiry offices as often.

A police spokesperson said that people in communities across Northern Ireland were now accessing public services “in different ways”.

PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Alan Todd said: “People are choosing to contact us in a different way and we want to deliver what they want, in the way they have chosen while maintaining our frontline service.

“Since the launch of our new website in February 2016 (up to 8 February 2017) more than 445,000 people have visited the site, with more than 1.5 million page views.

“More than 17,000 people have visited our online crime reporting page.

“Our social media following grew by 211,305 followers in 2016 and we regularly reach more than two million people per week with our social media posts.

“Digital access is what the public have chosen and, in this environment of changing public need and police resources, this is how we are designing for the future and providing best value for public money.”

The Assistant Chief Constable added: “Enquiry offices were conceived before the digital age, however we appreciate that there are some services that require face-to-face interaction.”

Services available at station enquiry offices include administrative activities such as producing driving documents, paying warrant fines, Foreign Students registration or signing bail.

A post on the Fermanagh PSNI Facebook page this week stressed that police can always be contacted by phoning 101, or 999 in an emergency.