Gloucestershire Police take new approach to policing

West Country
Gloucestershire Police
Gloucestershire
Tuesday 23 January 2018 at 1:51pm

The Force is pledging to make local policing accessible again. Credit: ITV News

Gloucestershire Constabulary will be adopting new approach to neighbourhood policing.

The Force is pledging to make local policing accessible again by providing a dedicated, named PCSO in every neighbourhood so that everyone knows who their local bobby is and how to contact them.

The 55 PCSOs will be the first point of contact for local concerns.

As well as the dedicated PCSOs, each neighbourhood team will include police constables and sergeants who will work on a wide range of issues such as Dangerous Drugs Networks, tracking down paedophiles and the organised crime groups which are targeting rural communities.

All policing begins and ends in a neighbourhood. It’s where we need to be to keep people safe and, more importantly, it’s where the public expect us to be. As part of our new neighbourhood policing offer we will have 55 dedicated PCSOs who will become part of their neighbourhoods, visible and available to address local concerns and act as a first point of contact within the communities. They will not be patrolling without a purpose. I expect them to know their neighbourhood and the people living in it. That means being at the school gate to talk to parents; it means going into care homes and sheltered houses to talk to residents about the issues that are concerning them; it means attending the events that matter; and it means listening to what you are saying.

We asked some people how the feel about having dedicated neighbourhood PCSOs...