Local policing team hosts community week of action

We are launching a week of community action to help to tackle issues raised by residents in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

The week of action, which began yesterday (Monday 17 October) will see officers from Newcastle local policing team, police community support officers (PCSOs) and partner agencies, work together to address concerns highlighted by people who live, work and visit the town centre.

Each day we will, alongside colleagues from Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, be present at the Women's Safe Space located in the Lancaster Building, to meet locals and discuss any community problems.

We will be on hand to provide crime prevention advice and information on a range of topics from public safety to health and wellbeing.

We will also form part of daily patrols with the local authority and partner agencies as we look to help rough sleepers and those in need by offering support and finding them shelter.

A number of enforcement operations will also be taking place across the week, so residents can expect to see an increased police presence, tackling issues such as anti-social behaviour, driving offences and vehicle crime.

We will be sharing updates throughout the week on the ‘Newcastle-under-Lyme Police’ Facebook and Twitter pages.

Police community support officer Rebecca Evans, said: “The week of action give us the opportunity to work with partners and the wider community to really understand the issues that people are experiencing in the town centre and look at what needs to be done to address them.

“We are committed to working with partners to make sure that people feel safe in the area and we will continue to carry out regular days and weeks of action, alongside our routine town centre patrols and community engagement events.”

Cllr. Gill Heesom, Cabinet member for community safety and well-being, said: “Collaborative partnership working makes a positive difference to residents’ lives – it’s something that the Council is committed to doing, and is also very experienced at, on a daily basis.

“We want Newcastle town centre to be a pleasant, welcoming and safe place for everyone and we’re continuing to put a great deal of effort into improving the visitor experience while exciting redevelopment plans, funded by the Town Deal Fund, take shape.

“This latest campaign is an opportunity to combine a whole range of services and deliver a co-ordinated response to points raised by residents, workers, shoppers and businesses who use the town centre on a regular basis. It also allows us to build on existing work to provide tailored support for vulnerable people, such as rough sleepers, and tackle those whose anti-social behaviour is affecting others.”