Sergeant would like more officers on the beat

Editorial Department Catriona Loughran - 1503 • Published 10 Sep 2009 09:00 0 Comments

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Police officers on the beat and on bikes will be a more familiar site around Enniskillen following the relaunch of the town's Neighbourhood Policing Team on Friday past.

The relaunch, which took place at Enniskillen PSNI station, is part of a county-wide roll-out to engage with the local community and to tackle crime more "effectively and efficiently" in the area.

Led by Sergeant Keith Hicks, the experienced team will consist of local officers already working closely with community workers and councillors in estates, parks and surrounding areas.

The team includes Constable Richard Purvis who will be responsible for Cornagrade, Kilmacormick and Hillview areas. Constable Gavin Huey, who will be responsible for Lisgoole, Bellanaleck and Letterbreen and Constable Deborah Bowles who will be responsible for Chanterhill, Tamlaght and Lisbellaw areas.

A fourth constable will be appointed shortly to look after the Coleshill and Windmill Heights areas.

Due to Enniskillen's population, ideally Sergeant Hicks said he would like more officers working in neighbourhood policing across the town.

"The first thing I asked for when I was assigned this role was more officers, but unfortunately I was told this was not going to be the case in the short-term. I would like to see more officers recruited here in Enniskillen so that we can better tackle the crimes that are affecting people such as oil-heating theft and burglaries. But if cuts are happening under the Patten recommendations then there is nothing much we can do but to spread the officers out as best we can until more officers become available."

Members from the Community Policing Liaison Committee were also present at the relaunch and was an opportunity for them to be re-introduced to the Constables working in their areas.

"From Chanterhill to Coleshill the resident groups and workers will know who the different points of contact are and will have the Constable's mobiles phone numbers at hand to contact them about any query. It's about the community getting to know their police officers and being able to approach them easily."

Anti-social behaviour, under-age drinking and boy-racers will be the main crimes targeted under the initiative and emphasis will also be placed on stamping out illegal fireworks coming into the Hallowe'en period.

"Police officers will be more visible to the community and will be on the beat and on their bikes keeping an eye on the areas they are assigned to and on any illegal activity that may be happening."

According to Sergeant Hicks, the Mobile Policing Unit will soon be operational in the town and it, along with some police vehicles, will be fitted with an Automatic Number Plate Reader, which can detect motorists having no tax or insurance.

The current threat is also a concern for Sergeant Hicks but he said "steps will be taken to ensure the safety of police officers at all times" he said.

The neighbourhood policing framework is based on 25 recommendations with F District being the first District in the PSNI to have a Community Engagement Strategy set up, to reflect the diversity of all the communities and groups across the District.

The first relaunch of Fermanagh Neighbourhood Policing Teams took place last year in North Fermanagh (Irvinestown, Ballinamallard, Kesh) with Fermanagh West's Neighbourhood Policing Team (Belcoo, Garrison, Derrygonnelly, Belleek) the most recent launch which took place last month.

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 10 Sep 09

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