The number of police stations open to the public has been decimated in some areas, new figures show.
Only a handful of front counters are open daily in some counties that have populations of more than a million people.
In total, the number has almost halved since 2010 with about 400 counters shutting across England and Wales.
Figures from 31 out of 43 forces, gathered using the Freedom of Information Act by the Mail on Sunday, showed a fall from 901 open counters in 2010 to 510 as of March this year – a decrease of around 44 per cent.
Derbyshire Police had the biggest reduction with the number of police stations open to the public falling from 25 to four in seven years. This caters for a population of 786,000.
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Hertfordshire, a county with a population of nearly 1.2 million people, has three fully operational police stations with front counters, compared with 10 seven years ago.
The force’s website shows there are three stations open to the public daily, two others with a reduced counter service and 15 with no public access.
Ministers have faced recent criticism and pressure over the reduction in the number of police officers and the rise in violent crime reported to forces.
A similar request by the Press Association last month found the Metropolitan Police sold off almost £1bn in London property in the last five years, including 24 police stations.
Stations with cells also closed at a rate of 45 per cent since 2010, falling from 282 to 155 across the 31 force areas.
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A spokesman for the National Police Chiefs Council said: “Police are now far more accessible to the public online and by phone.
“Chief constables and police and crime commissioners will take decisions together about the numbers and location of police stations and front counters to meet their communities’ needs balanced against force budgets and priorities.
“All forces ensure they have custody facilities to meet their levels of demand. In recent years, several forces have replaced and renewed their custody suites.”
A Home Office spokeswoman said crime had fallen, according to the latest Crime Survey for England and Wales figures released last month.
She added: “The government has protected overall police spending in real terms since the 2015 Spending Review.
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“Decisions on the operational deployment of resources and the size of the police workforce are rightly a matter for chief constables, in association with police and crime commissioners, but police forces continue to have the resources they need to do their important work.”