Police chief hits back over Frodsham policing claims

CHESHIRE Police and Crime Commissioner John Dwyer has refuted claims made by councillors at Frodsham following the controversial changes made to policing arrangements for the town.
He says both he and the Chief Constable Simon Byrne are “fully committed” to neighbourhood policing in contrast to some police forces nationally who have been unable to balance the requirement to reduce policing budgets and maintain a visible local presence.
At a meeting of the Town Council last month, a number of members were fiercely critical of the changes in Frodsham and claimed the town’s PCSO was now based in Helsby, that the PCSO had had his car taken away from him and that he was forced to travel to Blacon and back twice daily and did not arrive in Frodsham until 10.30am.
But Mr Dwyer says the claims were incorrect.
He said PCSO Neil Flanagan still worked from Frodsham police station during his shift and had a number of drop-in points across Frodsham in the course of his day. He did have a drop-in point at Helsby High School, alongside Helsby PCSO John Finchett, where they could work occasionally when they needed to. As many children from both Frodsham and Helsby went to the school, this ensured both PCSOs got to know the young people from their areas.
PCSOs continued to have access to police vehicles as previously, although they were encouraged to use bikes or walk when possible, so they were visible to residents.
The time PCSOs were on patrol depended on their shift pattern and PCSO Flanagan would often be in Frodsham by 7.30-7.45am. If on a later shift, it might not be until after 10.30am or even early afternoon.
As part of the changes, all officers now met and were briefed from a main base – in this case at Blacon.
This had the benefit that all frontline officers heard the same briefing, shared intelligence and felt part of a bigger team.
“This has real advantages for the way we work and delivers better services to the people we serve,” said Mr Dwyer.
He pointed out that PCSO Flanagan had told town councillors during the summer that the changes had caused “very little disruption to my daily duties.”