Back-to-basics approach is winner with public

Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of the East Kilbride News.

Whenever you hear the issue of law and order discussed, you can be sure the phrase ‘bobbies on the beat’ will soon follow.

A generalisation, perhaps, but folk just feel inherently safer when they see officers on their streets and have a police office in their town.

The public want officers on patrol, preventing and solving crimes and giving advice, and not stuck in offices filling in paperwork.

On pages 12 and 13 of today’s paper, we have a feature on the new community police officers currently assigned to the six South Lanarkshire Council wards across East Kilbride and Avondale and East Kilbride town centre.

We spent time with PCs Colin Elliott and Barry O’Connor on their patch.

They tell of positive feedback from local folk and how a friendly cup of tea with a member of the public led to the uncovering of a drugs haul.

The creation of Police Scotland as well as the closure of some police offices has not gone down well with many.

But this back-to-basics community approach looks a real winner.

Elsewhere, and don’t miss out on your chance to win with the News.

Our popular £50 EK, East Kilbride gift card competition is on page 16 and you could win a £50 gift voucher if you enter our Di Maggio’s East Kilbride competition on page 24.

Meanwhile, we have a bumper eightpage pull-out of P1 pictures in the centre of the paper.

Those of you looking for the class pictures from Greenburn, Glassford, Sandford, Carmunnock and Gilmourton primaries should get next week’s paper as they complete our annual feature. Colin Paterson