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'Village style policing’ using a dedicated team of 2 x Police Constables and a Community Liaison Officer was introduced. The Police are employed on a ‘nonabstraction’ basis that means they cannot be moved to other beat areas (e.g. town centre shopping area), as was previously the case.
Police personnel now regularly attend community meetings. Relationships between the Police and local community have improved markedly such that the PC’s are affectionately known as the ‘Prescott Boy’s’ by local residents. Key community impacts have been achieved with a 31% reduction in domestic burglary in the first two years of operation. Vehicle and refuse fires have also decreased by 44% and 48% respectively. Not all recorded crime types have fallen however due to increased reporting reflecting the new levels of trust between the police and local community. The police have also been successful at creating a focus on the neighbourhood and drawing in additional resources from colleagues e.g. mounted police. The police visit Roselodge Dispersal Centre regularly to provide information on UK law to new arrivals and to develop relationships which help prevent misunderstanding. The PCs have also instigated a programme of taking other agencies along with them to introduce new arrivals to sources of help, advice and support. Links have also been made by the Police to the Council’s environmental services and local schools.
The high plausibility of the approach demonstrated by these initiatives has been recognised in the North East ‘Sustainable Communities’ Plan (ODPM 2003) where it was quoted as a good practice example. The role of the local police was also quoted in the ODPM news release for the Round Two of the Pathfinder Programme. The crime programme has also been the subject of a National Evaluation case study by SQW with positive results and an article in the Social Exclusion Units ‘Inclusion Magazine’.
Positive press coverage has been received in September 2004 for the reduction in different crime types and work of the police and community safety team.
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