Town’s police at the
cutting edge of reform
by John Hendon
POLICE in Warrington are at the forefront of moves to build closer links with the public.
Community policing, as advocated in the new Government White Paper on the future of the police, is already well established in the town, according to divisional commander Supt Julia Clayton.
She said: “Warrington is at the cutting edge of the localism agenda. We already have established Community Action Teams (CATs) and are now piloting local decision making groups in neighbourhoods, as well as robustly applying Anti Social Behaviour legislation.
“This Home Office paper shows that Cheshire and Warrington, in their move to improve neighbourhood policing, are at the forefront of these developments.” Cheshire’s Chief Constable, Mr Peter Fahy, says the force is already rolling out the style of community policing outlined in the White Paper.
Community Action Teams provide officers who are highly-visible and easily accessible – a feature emphasised in the White Paper.
CAT officers are building the close links with local people which result in long-term solutions to problems of crime and disorder, rather than adopting a “sticking plaster” approach.
One suggestion in the White Paper is that people should be given mobile phone numbers for local officers so that they are easier to contact.
Mr Fahy says Cheshire is already looking at how to improve the way the public can contact the CATs officers direct, but wants to ensure processes are in place to manage that workload.
It is already planned that each CAT will have an answer phone system and an E-mail address on which the public can leave messages about local problems of crime and disorder. Local beat officers improve the relationship between public and police, but the force has already found that this significantly increases the number of calls the public then want to make to those officers.
The move towards local community policing will go much further next year with the re-organisation of the Cheshire Police Force into 18 Neighbourhood Policing Units, consisting of CATs and specialist investigation teams.
CATs will continue to deal with problems such as disorder, drinking and drug dealing by encouraging a flow of information from the public; persistent offenders will be targeted, arrested and convicted, and work with partner agencies will continue to reduce and prevent crime .
Mr Fahy said: “That is what the public tell us they want, but increasing the numbers of visible beat officers can only be achieved if we reduce the number of officers who respond to calls to incidents. The White Paper does not appear to address that issue fully.
“We have carefully investigated the way we have responded to calls and it is clear that in many cases the ‘fast response’ approach has not played any part in producing a better end result.
“In many cases alternative responses are more effective; for instance a Local Beat Officer, or a Crime Scene Investigator may be sent at a convenient time; or the caller may find it more convenient to fix an appointment at a Police Station Helpdesk.
“For the future, our intention is that an emergency response will only be provided when it will make a real difference. The caller will be told clearly what is going to happen, and whether an officer will attend immediately or not.”
Mr Fahy added: “We are committed to moving to a new system of local neighbourhood policing and we are pleased that the Home Office has endorsed our plans. There are many other aspects of police reform however and in particular we need to strengthen our ability to deal with serious crime.
“There are some fundamental challenges facing policing as I am sure many of the public would agree. More local beat officers on their own will not address all those challenges. There will have to be further phases of police reform if we are to meet all the expectations the public has of us.
“We believe using officers to work out among the community, and to target and remove offenders is the right way to continue and extend the progress we are making in reducing crime and disorder in Cheshire.”
Town stands still in
memory of war heroes
by staff reporter
THOUSANDS of people in Warrington and district stopped work to observe two minute’s silence to mark Remembrance Day.
At the traditional time – the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month – the Mayor and Mayoress, Coun and Mrs Ted Lafferty led the two minutes’ silence at Market Gate.
Maroon rockets were fired from the Town Hall roof.
Thousands of people paused in the midst of the busy day to remember the fallen of two world wars and other conflicts.
At Lymm, the Royal British Legion held a special service at the ancient Cross in the village centre and a bugler sounded the Last Post.
. The town’s main Remembrance ceremonies will take place this Sunday, however, with a service and wreath-laying ceremony at the Cenotaph at Bridge Foot.
There will be a parade of service veterans and others through the town centre, ending at the Cenotaph at 10.45am.
Officers and crew of Warrington’s adopted submarine, HMS Turbulent will take part in the service as part of a visit to the town.
The Mayor, a long-standing member of the Royal British Legion who served with the Grenadier Guards in Cyprus, said: “I am delighted the submariners of HMS Turbulent are taking the time to visit Warrington and to join us for Remembrance Sunday.
“Their presence at the service will remind people that men and women continue to serve their country and are involved in conflicts all over the world.”
Pictures show the ceremony at Lymm Cross and bugler Derek Bradburn sounding the Last Post.
Council website tops
for air quality
by staff reporter
A FIVE star rating has been awarded to Warrington Borough Council’s air quality website.
The specialist magazine, Air Quality Management, has given the rating to the council’s “The Air About Us” website, putting it in the top eight of all local authorities in the country.
The magazine stated the site “has an excellent crisp look, with good content.”
Phil Woods, the council’s environmental protection and waste manager, said: “We are very pleased with the rating for quality and we have also taken steps to make air quality more prominent on our corporate website, to make it easier than ever for people to find.
“We would invite anyone with Internet access to have a look and tell us what they think”.
The website includes information about air quality in Warrington, what the council is doing to maintain good levels and “The Air About Us” campaign.
Coun Mike Hannon, executive member for community and wellbeing, said: “We are committed to maintaining and improving air quality in Warrington through our campaign.
“We aim to raise awareness about air quality as part of our role in achieving an ever more sustainable environment.
“We know the public is concerned about air quality and our site provides information on our approach and real time information on pollution levels in the town.”
Information can be viewed on the council’s website at www.warrington.gov.uk/news/air/air_frame.htm
Fire ravaged centre
ready to re-open
by Lesley Wilkinson
THE fire ravaged Sandy Lane Community Centre at Stockton Heath, near Warrington is expected to re-open on November 29 after extensive renovations.
An open day is being held to give local people an opportunity to see the improvements at the centre.
Stockton Heath Parish Council will have an office base in the improved centre and its monthly meetings will resume there.
During the period the centre has been out of operation, the council has been holdings its meetings at the Methodist Hall in Walton Road.
A number of other organisations which met
regularly at Sandy Lane have had to meet elsewhere – and some have not been able to meet at all.
The fire is believed to have been the work of arsonists.
Attack victim
dies in hospital
by staff reporter
A 31-year-old man found lying injured in a town centre park at Warrington last week has died in hospital.
The man was found by passers-by, lying in Marshall’s Gardens, Bridge Foot, close to the railway line which passes the park.
Two men were seen running away – and later two Warrington men, aged 28 and 19, were arrested.
They appeared before Warrington Magistrates charged with wounding and were remanded in custody. They are due to appear in court again today.
Retail centres get
in the festive spirit
by staff reporter
WARRINGTON’S big town centre retail centres are joining forces to present a feast of live entertainment and family fun in the run-up to Christmas.
Golden Square, Cockhedge Shopping Park, Warrington Market and Town Centre Warrington Partnership are getting together to make sure the town centre is the place to be during the festive season.
Helping to make Warrington’s Christmas lights switch on the best so far, will be Barney – everyone’s favourite purple dinosaur – and it just wouldn’t be Christmas without The Snowman.
Entertainment starts in Market Gate at 2pm on Sunday, November 21, as part of the countdown to the big switch on (from around 4.30pm at Market Gate) which includes special guest appearances by Barney the Purple Dinosaur and The Snowman, live entertainment and give-aways – 105.4 Century FM will be providing sing-a-long seasonal sounds! The Snowman and Barney will tour the town centre to meet their public.
Warrington Wolves’ coach Paul Cullen and players will also be there to celebrate the sound and light spectacular.
