Fears over travelling criminals have prompted a controversial overhaul of policing in West Craven and other parts of Pendle.

Chief Inspector Jeff Brown, the borough’s police commander, believes the threat posed by thieves from Burnley, Leeds, Bradford and Skipton demands a more co-ordinated approach when it comes to briefing his officers every daily.

Currently, Pendle police officers are briefed from either Nelson or Colne police stations, with members of West Craven’s policing team attending the latter.

Under the chief inspector’s proposals, which would take effect from July 1, all officers would be briefed at Nelson.

But local councillors are concerned the arrangement could lead to slower response times to emergency incidents in West Craven and the surrounding areas.

“If you’re talking about response times, a matter of a few minutes can make a difference,” said Coun David Whipp.

Chief Insp Brown said Pendle’s operation was currently “out of kilter” with the rest of Lancashire Police and he needed to adapt the way his officers were briefed.

“We have more incursions from West Yorkshire and Nelson and Burnley criminals, in the borough,” he said. “It is my responsibility how we deal with these problems at a borough level. We need to ensure that officers are briefed from one central location.”

But other councillors said they were worried this was the start of a move to centralise policing in Nelson and eventually Burnley.

Coun Tony Greaves said: “My cynical view is that they will all operate from Nelson and Colne and West Craven will become outreach posts.”

And Coun Allan Buck said: “There used to be a full police station in West Craven, then it moved to Colne and now it is moving to Nelson. The main control room is already in Burnley and I’m concerned everything could eventually be run from there.”

But Chief Insp Brown insisted response and neighbourhood officers would still be based at their West Craven stations following the briefings.

“Geographically we know there are challenges, but I owe it to members of the public to ensure my staff are briefed properly and thoroughly. I can assure you that we’ll look at it in three to four weeks’ time and if it’s not working it will go back to the way it was before,” he said.

The changes will be debated by Barnoldswick Town Council at its meeting next Wednesday.

Council chairman David Stead said he was concerned when he heard about the proposals.

“Emergency response times could be hit by the move. Barnoldswick is on the edge of Lancashire’s policing area and we don’t want to be left out on a limb,” said Coun Stead.

“I don’t know about the benefits of centralising response officers’ briefings, that’s up to the police, but Colne is a much more central location for Pendle as a whole. There would be no change to Barnoldswick’s cover if Colne was used, so that’s what I’m suggesting.”

The town council meeting starts at 7pm and will be held at the Rainhall Centre.