Frodsham’s fears over future of policing in the town

COUNCILLORS and members of the public at Frodsham fear the town will be less well policed as a result of  operational changes being introduced by Cheshire Constabulary.
Their fears were voiced when Assistant Chief Constable Mark Roberts attended  the monthly meeting of Frodsham Town Council.
In particular, they were concerned that police officers and PCSOs would spend less time “on the beat” in Frodsham because they would in future have to start and end their working days by attending briefings at Blacon – about 15 miles away.
One member of the public predicted that officers would spend one hour a day less in Frodsham because of a half-hour journey to Blacon twice a day.
Cllr Frank Pennington pointed out that the Town Council paid towards the cost of the PCSO in Frodsham but would be losing him for an hour a day.
He was also concerned about a lack of mobility that would be experienced by a PCSO. He o she would be dropped off in Frodsham or Helsby and would be expected to cover a fairly wide area on foot.
It could take all day to walk to some areas, he suggested.
Concerns were also expressed about Frodsham Police Station, arising from rumours that it could be closed.
Mr Roberts acknowledged that officers would be travelling from Blacon. But he said the increased use of new technology  would enable officers to stay in the area without having to return to their base as frequently.
PCSOs would have various means of getting around – walking, cycling and using a police vehicle. A degree of flexibility had been built into the system.
There were no plans to close Frodsham Police Station which would operate pretty much as before. Members of the public would be dealt with either by officers on the premises or would be able to speak to a control centre.
The good news, Mr Roberts said, was that crime in Cheshire was at its lowest level for 25 years. Response times to 999 calls would be three minutes quicker – not because of police officers driving faster but through organisational changes
The force had saved £37 million since 2007 and the current budget was £190 million. The senior management team had been “thinned out” so that the “front line” could be maintained at the same level.
An extra 53 officers were being recruited tis year – quite an achievement when compared with other police forces up and down the country which were making officers redundant.
Town Council chairman Cllr Mark Warren said the council would do all it could to help the police in Frodsham.
They could, for instance, make the council offices available for members of the public to leave information or hand in items of lost property.