Police get out and about

Jan 23 2009 by Andrew Hirst, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

POLICE are getting out into the community to find out people’s concerns and will even visit them in their own homes.

Kirkburton Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) members are posting leaflets to people to let them know when and where their local NPT officer will be, so they can speak to them about any issues they may have.

The slips give residents the option to contact their local officer by email and make a specific appointment or for the officer to have a chat with them.

Police community support officer Richard Hobson will be speaking to members of the public and the first of the mobile contact points is at Clayton West on Sunday.

PCSO Hobson will be patrolling the Pack Horse Close and Manor Road areas between 10am and 11am.

Insp Nicholas Harvey, from Kirkburton NPT, said: “This is a great way for us to increase public satisfaction in our areas, be highly visible and at the same time work to address the issues and concerns of local people.

“Only recently we set up a police contact point on a bus route.

“This is just another method of being able to engage with people living and working in the area.

“There are already contact points in our local libraries and community centres. But people are not always able to attend at the times and dates they are happening or are not physically able to get there.

“This latest idea to inform people of an officer’s whereabouts enables us to overcome those barriers as it takes the contact opportunity to their own homes.”

Insp Harvey added: “Before each of the mobile neighbourhood contact points we will leaflet drop the entire area to advertise the fact the officer will be there to speak to them if they wish.

“This should also have a positive impact in developing a more personal level of service to the community.

“We are initially looking to hold the neighbourhood contact points on a weekend, with a view to rolling them out at other times.” Elsewhere, a new weekly contact point has been set up at the Dalton and Rawthorpe Library, Information and Children’s Centre on Harp Inge.

It will be open each Thursday between 2pm and 3pm and is an opportunity for people to speak to the local NPT about any problems they are facing and which requires support from officers.