The police strategy to
tackle crime and disorder
by David Skentelbery
CHESHIRE Police have announced the names of four inspectors who are to take control of four new Neighbourhood Policing Units to be set up in the Warrington area as part of a major shake-up of the force across the county.
The NPUs will operate from April and are designed to bring police officers closer to the community they serve.
Each unit will cover a geographic area of the borough and each will have its own Community Action Teams (CAT) and Investigation Teams (IT) There will be CAT officers, Community Support Officers and Special Constables assigned to each unit to create a strong local profile so the public know who they are and how to contact.
The change comes because police have acknowledged that the present policy of response policing – officers racing around with blue lights flashing and two-tone blaring – hasn’t worked. All too often they arrive at an incident only to find they can’t spend a satisfactory amount of time with the caller.
In the meantime there has been a lack of bobbies out on the streets, interacting with the community.
This has led to public dissatisfaction – and the NPUs are designed to resolve the problem.
Each NPU will be like a mini-force, with its own dedicated police service responsible for dealing with incidents of crime and disorder that do not require an emergey response, the reduction of crime and disorder, partnership working, interaction with local people and organisations, intelligence gather and targeting local offenders and problem areas.
NPUs will be supported by Area Teams, dealing with Public Protection, Specialist Investigation, Targeted Patrol , Demand Management and Intelligence.
Targeted Patrol Teams will respond to emergency calls; Specialist Investigation Unit officers will handle serious crimes such as abduction, rape, robbery and indecent assault; the Public Protection Unit’s core business will be in the areas of registered sex offenders, child protection and domestic violence; the Intelligence Unit will target persistent offenders and problem areas.
Police say they have carried out considerable research into the new structure, including scrutiny of other police forces who have already adopted similar systems.
The Warrington West NPU will be led by Inspector Brian Heywood who joined Cheshire Police in 1984 and has spent much of his service at Warrington.
He said: ” “The NPU will enable me to have officers based locally who will be visible, accessible and accountable to their residents. They will make contacts in the community and receive information and intelligence to help them focus on the key issues to be addressed.”
He will be responsible for neighbourhood policing in Birchwood, Callands, Great Sankey, Old Hall, Penketh, Westbrook, Whittle Hall and Winwick.
“Warrington is where I live, where I know and where I want to police,” he said. “I have a great deal of local knowledge and I know what the issues are in the area.”
Inspector Damien Smethurst will lead the Warrington Central NPU and is confident this new unit will provide him with the resources he needs to tackle the issues which matter most.
He said: “Neighbourhood Policing Units are the only way forward for policing in the 21st century – having locally based officers dealing with local issues and being accountable to their community.
“The NPU will have a proactive capability along with its own investigation team, allowing me to react to incidents of burglary, vehicle crime and violent crime, as well as targeting those individuals who cause the most harm in the area.”
Inspector Smethurst has spent six and a half years of his 10 year police career based in the borough, serving in Great Sankey, Risley and across the borough.
He will now be responsible for neighbourhood policing in the town centre, Bewsey, Fairfield, Howley and Whitecross.
He added: “As part of my new role I hope to increase community engagement and participation by expanding Community Action Meetings (CAMs) which are currently being piloted in Whitecross. Residents often want to have face to face contact with their local officers which helps to build their confidence and trust in the police service. CAMs are a great way for the public to have this interaction with us and they can also help to set our priorities.”
Stephen Precious will be the new Neighbourhood Policing Unit Inspector for Warrington East, covering the areas of Culcheth, Glazebury, Croft, Birchwood, Poulton North, Poulton South, Rixton and Woolston.
With 18 years experience of policing in Cheshire, Inspector Precious is ready to get to grips with the issues affecting these communities and is looking to take a fresh approach to engage with all residents.
“I want to build upon the good work already being carried out by the local Community Action Team by increasing the visibility of officers and making them even more accessible to residents,” he said. “The Neighbourhood Policing Unit will give officers the opportunity to deal with community issues and investigate crimes at a more local level.”
“Throughout my policing career I have acquired a wide range of skills and abilities and I hope to work effectively in partnership with other agencies and the local community to deal with those issues that are important to residents. This might mean doing things differently such as meeting with young people in their own environment, instead of expecting them to come to us.”
For the past four years Inspector Precious has been based at Force Headquarters, managing and developing IT crime recording systems which are used by officers to collate intelligence and run major investigations.
Inspector Stuart Woodcock will lead the Warrington South NPU covering nine communities in total: Appleton, Grappenhall, Hatton, Latchford, Lymm, Stockton Heath, Thelwall, Walton and Westy.
“The focus of the NPU will be more localised with the aim of understanding what the problems are in each area and getting to know residents, as well as the local criminals,” he added. “The team’s knowledge will increase as officers will be working in a smaller area and I believe our long term results will be far better as a consequence.”
With 28 years experience of policing communities in Cheshire, Inspector Woodcock has built up a number of valuable contacts having spent a number of those years in Warrington.
“I have been based in the borough for the past eight years and in that time have built up many, many contacts including councillors, MPs, Trading Standards officials and the Education department. I will continue to work in partnership with them and now I will have more resources to utilise locally which should see issues dealt with more speedily.”
Olivia tumbles into
hall of fame
by Gary Skentelbery
A WARRINGTON schoolgirl has “tumbled” into a new hall of fame.
Tumbling champion Olivia Bradshaw has had the honour of becoming the first pupil to enter Croft Primary School’s hall of fame Olivia, aged 11, was part of the British tumbling squad which won the British Championships Under 12’s event last year.
She is a member of the highly successful Warrington Gymnastics Club based at Evans House in the town.
She has been doing gymnastics since the age of four and switched to the tumbling event three years ago.
Despite breaking her hand during a freak training accident she is confident she will be fit to comepete in the British tumbling championships next month.(March)
Head Teacher Stephen Smith said: “Everyone at the school is proud of Olivia’s achievements and have decided to start a hall of fame for our successful pupils. Olivia has the honour of being the first in the hall of fame.”
Showman wins battle
over car parking
by David Skentelbery
SHOWMAN Michael Wallis has won planning consent for a parking area at the rear of his Warrington home despite objections from nei
ghbours who fear he will use if to store fairground equipment.
The borough council’s development control committee gave the go-ahead even though the site is currently under investigation and subject to an enforcement notice.
Planning officers recommended approval and claimed the history of the site at the rear of Liverpool Road, Great Sankey, had no relevance to the applications.
Neighbours claimed there was a long-running history of complaints about fairground equipment being stored on the site and that provision of hard standing would make this even more likely.
One neighbour said a fairground vehicle and tractor unit, two pick-up trucks and a car were parked on the site the day before it was due to be inspected by the council.
But they were all moved by the time the council arrived – only to return the following day.
Great Sankey Parish Council objected on the grounds of a potential noise nuisance, obstruction to neighbouring properties, visual impact and increased traffic.
But Mr Wallis said the parking area would be for a maximum of three cars only and there would be no detriment to the area.
Planning officer Emma Sheppard said there was a lengthy record of planning matters relating to the unauthorised parking of fairground vehicles which was still subject to an enforcement notice. But it was not considered this had a bearing on the application.
The committee approved the scheme, subject to a substantial boundary wall being built.
Woman was abusive
to neighbours
by court reporter
A WOMAN who abused neighbours, played loud music and damaged garden fences has been taken to court at Warrington.
Golden Gates Housing – the borough council’s housing arm – took action against the 38-year-old woman after a series of incident of anti-social behaviour in the Orford area of the town.
These had resulted in a large number of complaints from local residents, Warrington County Court was told.
The court heard allegations that 38-year-old woman, who lives in Greenwood Crescent, played loud music, quarrelled in the house and in the front garden, verbally abused neighbours and damaged neighbouring fencing.
Golden Gates Housing was granted a possession order against the woman. The order was suspended for nine months, which means that if there are any further incidents of anti-social behaviour, Golden Gates can ask for outright possession of the property.
Peter Mercer, director of Golden Gates Housing, said: “This is our second successful case in as many months. I hope it shows our determination to take action against this type of behaviour. The fact that the tenant has children living with her will not stop us taking further action should it be necessary. I only hope that it won’t come to that.”
GGH’s tenancy agreement contains an obligation on anyone living in or visiting the property not to do anything that causes a nuisance to neighbours.
Pupils catch the
re-cycling bug
by John Hendon
OVER the next few weeks, pupils, parents and local communities in Warrington will catch the recycling bug as they collect as many old Yellow Pages directories as possible.
They will be taking part in the Yellow Woods Challenge, which is run in partnership between Yellow Pages, the Woodland Trust and Warrington Borough Council.
All schools will receive fun education packs teaching children about paper, recycling, woodland and ‘minibeasts’ like Kirk – the recycling bug and mascot for the Yellow Woods Challenge.
Schools collecting the most directories per pupil will win cash prizes and native tree saplings to plant in their grounds. And for every pound awarded to schools by Yellow Pages, a matching pound will be given to the Woodland Trust.
Coun Terry O’Neill, the borough council’s executive member for Environment and Regeneration, said: “We are grateful to our partners, the children and staff at the schools for taking part. We want to make recycling the norm in Warrington and not the exception. I hope that everyone will take the opportunity to participate.”
How to reduce those
unwanted phone calls
by staff reporter
DEALING with unwanted telephone calls can be frustrating – but people are being advised to always contact Warrington Trading Standards if they have any concerns.
The advice is being given after a resident contacted the borough council saying she had received a phone call from a company using the trading name “shopmobility” and offering to carry out assessments for disabled people.
Trading Standards wants to make it clear that the company is not connected to the council or the Warrington Disability Partnerships Shopmobility Scheme.
Dave Thompson, chairman of the Warrington Disability Partnership, said: “If any disabled residents or carers require information about the services and equipment that are available, they should contact Warrington centre for Independent Living on 01925 638867 or call the Disability Helpline on 01925 240064.”
Help is at hand for people wishing to reduce the number of unwanted telephone calls they receive.
Edwina Greenwood, Principal Trading Standards Officer, said: “In this case, there was nothing illegal about what the company was doing, but it is right that people should contact us if they have any concerns or doubts, it is better to be safe than sorry.
“It can be very frustrating to receive unwanted phone calls, especially if consumers have mobility difficulties.
“I would encourage anyone who wishes to reduce the number of calls to contact the telephone preference service on 0845 070 0707. Consumers may also wish to reduce the number of so called silent calls by contacting 0870 444 3969 and both services are free.”
