MORE than a dozen Glasgow police stations are to shut after midnight in a cost-cutting shake up.

Police Scotland have reviewed activity at stations across the country and proposed a raft of late night public counter closures.

Some of the biggest stations in Glasgow will be affected as the new national police service tries to save money.

The changes affect more than half of the 24 stations in the greater Glasgow G ­Division area, which covers more than 750,000 people.

The police said it carried out an analysis of public visits to the stations over a period of weeks and found that there was "minimal usage" after midnight.

It found there was an ­average of 37 visits a day to the West End Station, one of the busier facilities and few after midnight.

In Maryhill, another large station, there was 17 a day, and in Anderston, which is to close to the public, there was 12 a day.

Police Scotland believes it will free up officers for other frontline duties.

A statement said: "Due to the proposed structure ­recommending the reduction of public counter

Provision throughout the night at several stations, it is anticipated that this will have a significant positive impact on the number of ­police officers available to be deployed."

The stations in Glasgow affected are:

l West End (Partick); Drumchapel; London Road; Shettleston; Maryhill; Pollok; Cathcart and Gorbals, which are currently open round the clock but will soon be closed between midnight and 7am

l Easterhouse and Baird Street, in Springburn, will move from 24-hour to 8am to 6pm opening.

l Pollokshaws and Saracen stations will move from open all hours to 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.

l Anderston Station, currently open 9am to 5pm will be closed to the public.

It leaves only two stations, Glasgow City centre and Govan open 24 hours a day seven days a week.

Police Scotland said the changes would have minimal impact on the public.

Assistant Chief Constable Wayne Mawson, who led the review, said: "The public access our services in many ways, but we have seen the number of people calling at public counters drop in recent years.

"Our review will reduce opening hours at some public counters across Scotland, but this is where analysis of demand has provided evidence which has allowed us to take these steps without significantly impacting on the level of service enjoyed by communities.

"The transition to Police Scotland gave us a chance to critically review all of our processes to ensure we make the best of our resources and provide best value for money to the public."

Opposition parties have expressed concerned at the closure plans.

Margaret Mitchell, Scottish Conservative justice spokeswoman, said: "One of the main reasons behind moving to a single force was to create economies of scale.

"However, the Scottish Government at no point said one of the first things the single force would do is shut police stations all over the country.

"This is a worrying and retrograde step, and one which will do nothing to improve public confidence in the safety of our streets or the overall justice system."

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "Operational decisions around the management of resources is a matter for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland.

"Since 2007, this Government has provided 1000 extra officers working across Scotland to keep our communities safe, and crime is at an almost 40-year low."

stewart.paterson@eveningtimes.co.uk