The accent was on teamwork when more than seventy Police Officers and members of Police staff from Cheshire Police Eastern Area were presented with commendations. Wilmslow's Police Community Support Officer Sarah Holland was amongst seventy Police Officers and members of Police staff from Cheshire Police Eastern Area recently presented with commendations.
Sarah was recognised for her hard work and tireless commitment to the formation of the Lacey Green Business Alliance which has proved a significant measure to curb anti social behaviour and crime on the estate at Wilmslow.
Much of the anti social behaviour was centred outside the shops in Twinnies Road which form the hub of the local community. Since the formation of the Alliance, which has brought together business people, local residents, representatives of two local housing associations and officers within the Crime and Disorder Partnership, there has been a dramatic reduction in disorder and minor crime.
Sarah also coordinated a bid for £2,000 to install CCTV at the shops. The CCTV is managed by Alliance members. It allows local businesses to make decisions about how Anti-social behavior is dealt with and encourages them to provide evidence to the Police to aid the detection of crime.
According to the Chief Superintendent’s Commendation "This action by Sarah is in addition to her visible and reassuring presence on the estate, representing Cheshire Constabulary in supporting and protecting the local community. Sarah has displayed a passion and drive to make a real difference to the Lacey Green community. She has shown real initiative in establishing a new “best practice” approach to tackling ASB which could be replicated in other areas experiencing similar problems."
Forty-five people involved in a Strikeout operation against drug dealing in Macclesfield and Wilmslow which resulted in the arrest of nearly sixty people, with prison sentences totalling 135 years being imposed, were also amongst those commended.
In July 2007 an operation began in the Macclesfield and Wilmslow area, targeting the supply of Class A drugs . Over a period of months covert tactics were used to gather a large mass of evidence and two strike days were effectively executed in February and April 2008.
Over both days in excess of 120 officers from around the county were deployed. 37 warrants were executed in Cheshire and Merseyside and three individuals were produced from prison. 57 people were arrested for supplying controlled drugs and were subsequently charged with more than 220 separate offences. All were later dealt with and a total of 135 years imprisonment was imposed on them.
According to the Chief Superintendent’s Commendation "Both days took weeks of planning, preparation and dedication by the officers involved. It is a testament to these officers that both days were executed flawlessly and every target was arrested. The dedication and professionalism of the officers involved resulted in the largest and most successful operation of its type conducted in Cheshire, not simply in terms of “raw” results but also in terms of the huge boost in public confidence which was achieved."
Chief Superintendent Mick Garrihy, the Cheshire Police Eastern Area Commander said, “We have people who show dedication, skill, loyalty, clear thinking and, when needed, bravery in their efforts to keep the public safe.
“Team working, whether it is officers working with other officers, or with police staff or with other agencies and members of the public is the key to success and all the successes we are marking with these awards are the result of team work in one form or another.”
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One of our local beat areas is Lacey Green, a pleasant suburb of Wilmslow. There are very few major problems with Lacey Green, however, like most residential areas it does have issues with Youths and anti-social behaviour. These two issues are intrinsically linked and the problem of anti-social behaviour usually manifests itself on the parade of shops on Lacey Green.
Most weekend nights would see multiple calls from the local shop-owners with regard to youths acting anti-socially outside their shops. This would result in local officers attending the area and dispersing the crowds of youths. Whilst this worked in the short-term, it did not fix the problem long-term, merely acting as a 'sticking plaster', rather than a solution.
Realising that this problem was a significant drain on our resources at key periods, I set about finding a solution. I collaborated with local agencies, such as Cheshire Peak and Plains and the local shops themselves and in February 2009, and instigated what is now known to be Lacey Green Business Alliance.
This Alliance comprises of local shop owners, Cheshire Peak and Plains, Manchester Methodist Housing and the Police and is committed to working jointly in solving local problems. Through our collective efforts, sufficient funding was raised for this Alliance. This funding helped set up a comprehensive CCTV system covering the parade of shops on Lacey Green. The reasoning was that this CCTV would act as a deterrent against anti-social behaviour.
Has it worked? Through the months of April - August 2009, reports of anti-social behaviour fell sharply by 30%. This can be considered an overwhelming success, especially as this period also covered the busy Summer vacation period.
To this present day, anti-social behaviour continues to decrease and due to the concerted efforts of the Alliance, this decrease will become the norm, rather than an exception.
I have worked for Cheshire Constabulary for the last five years. The first two years of my service were dedicated to the Special Constabulary which was fantastic and encouraged me to join the Constabulary full time.
In May 2007 I was delighted when I joined the Wilmslow Neighbourhood Policing Team as a Police Community Support Officer, since then I have never looked back.
Over the last three years I have come to know most of the residents in Lacey Green and Styal and I now feel like part of the community as if it were my own. I have dealt with many different people and experienced a variety of situations that no other job could provide. Every day is different and I am constantly finding new challenges.
The highlights to the job are working with great team members, the community and the partner agencies. This job would not be the same without them all.