More community police to make area safer

Oct 30 2008

Plans to put more dedicated community police officers on the streets to make South Lanarkshire a safer place than ever before have been revealed.

Thanks to additional funding from the council and the Scottish Government, the South Lanarkshire Division of Strathclyde Police, in line with the Chief Constable's vision, will be basing officers in each of the 20 council ward areas as part of a Community Policing Team.

Managed day to day by Community Policing Inspectors, these teams will become part of the solution to the kind of problems that blight people's lives and the areas in which they live. They will be working closely with key partner agencies across South Lanarkshire, in order to make the area a safer, better place to live and work.

Leader of South Lanarkshire Council, Councillor Eddie McAvoy, said: "Keeping police officers in community posts for longer periods of time will allow relationships and trust to develop fully with local people and groups.

"The aim is that these teams will deliver improvements in terms of tackling crime and anti-social behaviour in each of the areas where they will operate. And I believe that this set-up will go a long way towards making an early impact in this respect.

“And the idea is that these teams are flexible enough to tackle hotspots until the issues there have been resolved.

"The Anti-Social Behaviour Strategy, combined with the South Lanarkshire Community Policing Initiative, will not only reduce crime but will also reduce the fear of crime."

Local residents will be central to this as they will be able to influence decisions about their area. Through this long term relationship with the police and the partner agencies, action plans can be made to tackle their concerns.

Chief Superintendent Tim Love, Divisional Commander for South Lanarkshire, said: "Our officers will be providing focused policing by being accessible and highly visible to local residents within the ward areas.

"Over the next year additional officers will be selected to join these teams and I am positive this will create strong community links with local residents."

Procurator Fiscals Jennifer Harrower and Anne Donaldson, said: "The combination of the introduction of community policing and the efficiencies achieved as a result of Summary Justice Reform earlier this year will enhance the safety and security of our communities and, it is hoped, will lead to an increase in confidence in the criminal justice system."

The Community Policing Inspectors who will manage the Community Policing Teams for South Lanarkshire will be:

Blantyre - Inspector John Riley (based at Blantyre Police Office)
Hamilton - Inspector Fraser Lamb (based at Hamilton Police Office) and Inspector Andy Munro (based at Larkhall Police Office)
East Kilbride - Inspector Julie Edward (based at East Kilbride Police Office)
Rutherglen and Cambuslang - Inspector Iain Wilson (based at Cambuslang Police Office)
Lanark - Inspector John Cherington (based at Lanark Police Office)

For more information on your local officers please go to the South Lanarkshire community police webpage (this link will open in a new window)

The police would like to remind all residents that they should always dial 999 in an emergency situation.