Public surgery at newly-opened Community Police Station in Birkenhead
14:30 - 16:30 | 17.08.18 - Merseyside Conway Centre, Conway Street, Birkenhead, Wirral, CH41 6JDMerseyside’s Deputy Police Commissioner is inviting people living in Birkenhead to come and talk to her about their policing and community safety concerns as she visits the borough’s newest Community Police Station.
Cllr Emily Spurrell will join members of Merseyside Police’s local policing team at the inaugural surgery at the Force’s newest Community Police Stations in the Conway Centre in Birkenhead. The session will give Emily the opportunity to meet residents face-to-face to discuss issues in their area and encourage people to use the new community facilities.
The Community Police Station is the fifth to open their doors on the Wirral and is designed to be an accessible, visible centre which gives local people access to their neighbourhood police team in a busy, centrally-located base.
In Birkenhead, the Community Police Station is co-located with a One Stop Shop which holds public advice surgeries, has computers for council and partner services and appointments with a NHS trainer.
Community Police Stations are a key element of the Police Commissioner, Jane Kennedy’s 10 year plan to update and modernise the Force’s ageing estate, saving money on the Force’s annual running costs which can be directed straight into the frontline.
Emily said: “The Commissioner has made maintaining a visible and accessible neighbourhood policing style as one of her policing priorities, and Community Police Stations are an integral part of delivering on this pledge.
“We know the value that people put on being able to see and meet with their neighbourhood policing team and Community Police Stations are designed to put those teams right at the heart of the communities they serve. By holding regular surgeries, members of the public have the opportunity to pop in and discuss their concerns and share their views with their local team in a convenient location.
“For really effective policing, it is vital to gauge the views of the public and I am delighted to be joining the team in Birkenhead for some of the first sessions in these new Community Police Stations. It’s my job to work with the Commissioner to hold Merseyside Police to account and I would encourage people to come and tell me what they think so I can make sure their voices are heard.”
The Community Police Stations will be open on a regular, but not continuous basis and will include public meeting rooms and facilities from which officers can parade on. It will not house any custody suites or cells. Surgeries will be publicised at the centre, on local billboards and through the Force’s social media accounts.
Merseyside Police’s Community Policing Inspector Georgina Minnery said: “We are delighted that this newCommunity Police Stations are now open and will be soon be welcoming people.
“The regular surgeries will give the residents of Birkenhead an new, open and welcoming forum in which they can raise and discuss issues that really matter in their communities. Our local policing officers will be on hand to listen, and to provide advice and reassurance.
“The more we hear from our communities, the more effective our response will be, in tackling the wide variety of issues impacting upon people across Wirral.”
Community Police Stations are already open on the Wirral in Hoylake, Moreton, Rockferry and Laird Street, as well as further afield in St Helens and Maghull.