Fast-growing town keeps police station
CRIME: One of the fastest growing towns in East Yorkshire will keep its police station and get 12 more officers, the Chief Constable has announced.
Chief Constable Lee Freeman said the station in Pocklington was no longer going to be sold and they would bolster the current staffing arrangements to give a 24/7 presence.
ONE OF the fastest growing towns in East Yorkshire will keep its police station and get 12 more officers, the Chief Constable of Humberside Police has announced.
Chief Constable Lee Freeman said the station in Pocklington was no longer going to be sold and they would bolster the current staffing arrangements to give a 24/7 presence.
East Riding councillor Mike Stathers welcomed the news, adding: “We as ward councillors and local residents have been calling for a greater police presence in Pocklington for the past few years.
“There was serious concern within the rural community that we didn’t have a sufficient police presence.”
Coun Stathers said he understood that police officers were coming from Goole, 40 minutes away, to respond to calls, adding: “It is not good just to be given a log number.
“It is really good to see more police in our community. We are fortunate in this part of the East Riding that we have a pretty low crime rate, but that’s not to say that the community should not have a greater police presence.”
The announcement comes ahead of police and crime commissioner elections in May which in East Yorkshire will see Labour incumbent Keith Hunter facing a challenge from contenders including Conservative candidate Craig Ulliott.
The force last year had the biggest recruitment campaign in its history. There are now over 1950 officers, with plans to reach 2,150 in the next two years.
It’s not the only town in Yorkshire to be getting good news about local policing. Edlington police station, near Doncaster, South Yorkshire, which has been shut for six years, is due to reopen this month.
Mr Freeman said the new officers would join the existing Police Community Support Officers and Community Beat Manager, PC John Day,
He said: “Over the last two and half years the Police and Crime Commissioner Keith Hunter and I have overseen the reintroduction of local policing and the largest single recruitment campaign in the history of Humberside Police.
“During this time, I have significantly increased policing resources in East Riding, returning patrol officers to bases in Beverley, Hedon, Hornsea and Withernsea, as well as adding officers, detectives and intelligence staff in Goole and Bridlington.
“Pocklington has always been in the forefront of our thoughts and the announcement today follows a huge amount of work between us and the PCC.”
Police and Crime Commissioner Keith Hunter said: “I have responsibility for police buildings and due to the Chief Constable’s decision to increase the number of officers in Pocklington I was delighted to be able to reverse a proposal made some time ago to sell the police station.
“I will continue to work on behalf of residents to ensure this progresses across the force area as our hard work and planning over the last four years continues to benefit the communities we serve.”
The Home Office is providing £750m to support 43 forces to recruit up to 6,000 new officers by the end of 2020/21.
The 6,000 target in the first year is part of the government’s drive to increase police ranks by 20,000 over the next three years.
West Yorkshire will get one of the biggest boosts in the country with an extra 256 officers. In North Yorkshire the target is 58 new officers, while East Yorkshire and Humberside will aim for 97 new recruits.
We’ve been calling for a greater police presence in Pocklington.
East Riding councillor Mike Stathers.