Crewe Residents Meet Police Leaders To Discuss Issues In Their Area

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Road safety, county lines and young people were high on the agenda in Crewe as residents met with Cheshire’s police and crime commissioner and chief constable to discuss policing issues in their area.
It was the latest in a series of public engagement events where local residents across Cheshire have been invited to put their questions about local policing to PCC David Keane and CC Darren Martland.
A number of residents and local community representatives attended the event at the North Street Café last night (Friday 23 January).
The PCC and the chief assured those in attendance that Cheshire police is carrying out a number of proactive initiatives to address some of the issues raised.
The Commissioner highlighted the work being done by local PCSOs to enforce speed limits in the town and surrounding villages. He talked about the Constabulary’s current campaign to raise awareness of the Fatal 5 – speeding, drink and drug-driving, using mobile phones, not wearing seatbelts and careless driving – and the fact that we had 46 deaths on our roads in 2018/19. He also stated his belief that average speed monitoring should be more widely rolled to help prevent further road deaths.
Another big focus was county lines and criminal exploitation of children, amid resident concerns that it was on the rise in the town. The Commissioner was concerned that young, vulnerable people are being criminalised and taken advantage of by organised crime groups.
He pointed to several factors, including the lack of opportunity, removal of services and education of young people.
The Chief Constable told the audience that policing alone would not solve the issue, and that partnership working was vital. He also sated the importance of involving the local community and praised the work of local PCSOs and police officers in gathering crucial intelligence and evidence.
Some of the audience wanted to know how the police were prioritising issues faced by our young people. The Chief Constable told them that the biggest challenge in the future is around cyber crime and other hidden harms which can’t necessarily be dealt with by police on the streets.
The Commissioner stated his hope that huge investment would be made on a national scale into keeping our children safe, and that his long-term vision is keeping communities and organisations working together to keep everyone safe.
PCC David Keane said: “It was great to see so many local residents with a real passion and dedication to making their communities safer give up their free time to attend this event.
“It was interesting to hear on a local level what the key policing issues are for people in Crewe and discuss how we make improvements to make their communities safer.
“With police resources more stretched than ever, it’s important that we talk to local people about their priorities for policing to ensure we are delivering the best possible service.
“I look forward to meeting more residents at our final two events in Runcorn and Warrington in the coming weeks.”
CC Darren Martland added: “We are committed to delivering a neighbourhood policing service and putting the priorities of local communities at the forefront of everything we do.
“Our officers and PCSOs forge strong relationships with our communities to ensure crime and anti-social behaviour is dealt with as quickly and as effectively as possible.
“We appreciate the feedback from local residents in the area and I would like to reassurance residents that the problems raised at the events are being dealt with proactively by the local policing team.”
There are two further events to take place in Runcorn and Warrington. Please check the Cheshire PCC website for further details www.cheshire-pcc.gov.uk
If you would like to submit a question for the PCC or chief constable ahead of the meetings, please email it to pcc@cheshire.pnn.police.uk