Residents meet police bosses at Ironbridge meeting
Residents in Ironbridge were given a chance to quiz West Mercia's police and crime commissioner John Campion.
He was one of a number of guests a meeting at St Luke's Church on policing priorities in the Ironbridge Gorge.
Along with Mr Campion, other speakers included Chief Inspector Graham Preece, Inspector Richard Bailey and PCSO Dave Venus.
Mr Campion said: "I promised I would ensure a strong voice for local communities within policing, and it is only by meeting with and understanding local communities that I can do that effectively.
"I am grateful to the local Borough Councillor Nicola Lowery for arranging the meeting and to residents who took the time to share their views and concerns. I am delivering a £13m uplift in resources for local policing in the coming year, and in 12 months an additional 215 police officers will be in post to help keep us safe and improve both community visibility and accessibility.
"I have been clear to the Chief Constable that every area needs to see the benefit of these additional resources, including the Ironbridge Gorge ward, and I will continue to engage with the community there to ensure those improvements are delivered.”
Councillor Lowery, ward member for the Ironbridge Gorge, said: “It was a really productive meeting with a range of questions raised on speeding, enforcement of the 20mph zone in Ironbridge, antisocial behaviour, parking enforcement, intelligence, frontline policing and we agreed a number of actions on how we best proceed to address these issues locally.
“It’s important that our community continues to have an opportunity to ask questions directly both on policing and any issues of concern to ensure we work effectively together. The Police are keen to look at ways to improve community engagement in the Ironbridge Gorge and I am working with them to relaunch Partners and communities together (PACT) meetings. These are regular meetings organised jointly between the Safer Neighbourhood Policing Teams, local Councillors and partners and are a great way to raise issues affecting your local area. We are looking to hold the first PACT meeting in mid-March.
“I know how hard our local policing team work in the Gorge and it is great to see us working in partnership to address any local concerns and improve engagement within our community. It was a really informative evening and I would like to sincerely thank our speakers, St Luke’s Church for use of the space and to everyone that attended and asked questions to make sure we continue to make progress together within our community."
