Police tsar hits back at MP who won’t speak to him

POLICE and Crime Commissioner John Dwyer has hit back following claims by Warrington North MP Helen Jones that he is neglecting her constituency
He says he wants to develop a proper working relationship with the Labour MP but she refuses to speak to him.
He said: “As usual Helen Jones has chosen to go to the media with a statement without checking the facts.
“I am keen to develop a proper working relationship with Helen, to benefit the communities she represents, but her refusal to speak to me
is quite frustrating.”
Earlier this week, the Labour MP accused Mr Dwyer of neglecting North Warrington.
She said Cheshire had already lost 199 officers and was likely to lose more.
A new policy under which all officers would have to travel to and from the areas they were policing from Warrington town centre would result in them spending less time on the beat, she claimed.
Some PCSOs would have to travel on the bus, she said – suggesting that police cuts were going to be imposed in Labour areas.
But Mr Dwyer retorted: “The fact is that this year Cheshire, unlike most other Constabularies, will be increasing its police officer establishment by 53, whilst maintaining the PCSO establishment at 220.
“As a result of my root and branch review of the Constabulary there will be an extra 130 police officers deployed to local policing. In no way could this be interpreted by anyone, even Helen Jones, as a reduction in police officers.
“The Constabulary has trialled the idea of a central briefing point elsewhere in the county, and the results have been impressive.
“Simon Byrne, the Chief Constable is introducing eight Local Policing Units across the county which will be more responsive to local communities.  Whilst it is true that officers will have to travel to areas they’re policing, from the briefing point, the Constabulary has put in place arrangements to ensure that officers and PCSOs are on their appointed beats as quickly as possible.
“The Chief Constable has convinced me that these arrangements will further improve policing in Cheshire and the police presence on our streets.  Not only will there be more police Officers on the street, they and PCSOs will be better briefed to respond to the needs of the public.
“In addition, I have invested in technology which once fully implemented, will mean that police officers will not have to return to police stations during their shift to satisfy bureaucratic reporting processes.
“All in all the public of Cheshire will notice a positive difference in the policing style adopted by Cheshire Constabulary in the coming months.  This will continue to deliver falling crime and fewer victims and ensure the police in Cheshire are there for the public where and when they are needed.
“Helen Jones is totally out of order suggesting I will be focusing police cuts on Labour areas. There are no police cuts this year and all areas are being treated by me, as they always have been and will continue to be, in an even handed way.
“Had Helen Jones made contact with me she would have been told this, saving her embarrassment in the local media.”