Police set up community hubs in schools, hospitals and scout huts
POLICE officers are to report to scout huts, schools, hospitals and cafes as part of new plans to make the force more visible to the public.
Cheshire Police have announced plans to create community hubs for Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs).
Every area covered by a PCSO in the town will have its own hub, with Macclesfield General, MAC Activity centre and Macclesfield Library among those being used later this year.
In a report recommending these changes, the Police and crime commissioner, David Keane, said they will create ‘better connected’ communities’.
He said: “Every Cheshire community will soon have its own police base, providing an accessible contact point for local residents to meet with their local PCSO.
“PCSOs are an important part of local policing teams across Cheshire. They are the ‘eyes and ears’ of local communities, gathering intelligence to deal with complex police issues, whilst providing support to vulnerable residents, and focusing on making our roads safer.
These bases will provide the facilities for PCSOs to spend more time in the heart of the community they serve, increasing interaction with local residents and allowing them to have more visibility in our communities. Under the previous model, some PCSOs were travelling miles each day to the community they were based in, wasting valuable time.
“When I was elected I promised the residents of Cheshire ‘more feet on the beat’. Providing every community in Cheshire with their own named, recognisable community officer is helping us achieve this vision.”
Councillor Mick Warren, who represents Macclesfield East, has welcomed the news.
He said: “I think it will enhance policing in the community. It is good for people to have somewhere they know the PCSO is going to be based if they want to go and speak to them or get a bit of reassurance. Town centres can be quite a frightening place for some people so to know you have that in the community is a positive thing.”
Macclesfield’s PCSOs will be based in eleven locations across the town all of which are expected to be open by the end of the year. Other hubs include; Hurdsfield Library; West Park Café; Bollington Town Hall; Festival Hall, in Prestbury; Deva Scout Hut; Macclesfield library; MAC; Macclesfield District General Hospital; and Macclesfield fire station.