Cheshire Police to reach Olympic heights

 

With the Olympics just weeks away, forces across the country will be providing mutual aid to the host forces which will include Metropolitan Police Service, Dorset Police and British Transport Police. Cheshire Police will be amongst those lending their support to the national effort, providing a number of officers who will provide support on the streets as well as specialists such as firearms and specialist dogs. The Force Planning and Resilience Unit have been pivotal in coordinating the effort to maintain current levels of policing services in Cheshire whilst providing staff to support the national policing effort for the Olympic games.

Cheshire Constabulary have implemented a range of measures to maximise the number of officers available to assist with the Games whilst continuing to police across the force area. Annual leave has been cancelled, non-essential training has been postponed and the Special Constabulary will be contributing additional hours to support their colleagues.

Assistant Chief Constable Janette McCormick said: "We will continue to respond effectively and deal with issues that arise in our communities efficiently. Local people may see fewer officers attending community meetings, going into schools or attending community events, but residents can rest assured that our response will be equal to our response at any other time of the year.

"During the games, we will be running via our website a series of Olympic themed competitions together with an Olympic blog that will enable residents in Cheshire to get an insight into how staff from the Constabulary are keeping people safe and their contribution to making them feel safe, both here in Cheshire and as part of the national operation. We hope local people will find the blog of real interest and show their support by following the efforts of staff during the period of the Games."

The 2012 London Olympic Games are scheduled to start on Friday 27^th July and finish on Sunday 12^th August, whilst the Paralympics will take place between Wednesday 29^th August and Sunday 9^th September. There has been a genuine public interest in the build up to the Games within Cheshire and testament to this was the arrival of the Olympic Torch which brought thousands of people onto the streets. The Torch Relay attracted over 14,000 views to our website.

For further enquiries you can speak to Corporate Communications on 01606 365915 or further information can be found at www.cheshire.police.uk, www.twitter.com/cheshirepolice or www.facebook.com/cheshirepolice. Our Olympic Gold competition starts on 20^th July. Details of blog to follow.