Stockport police lead the way, says MP

Stockport MP Ann Coffey has praised the work of the new police Public Service Team, following her introduction to the work of this new unit at Cheadle Heath Police Station.

The new team, which was set up in September 07 as one of only two pilots in Greater Manchester, consists of a police inspector, five sergeants and 15 constables who are dedicated to dealing with incidents which don’t require an emergency response. Since the establishment of the team, public satisfaction with police response is going up, thanks to this “customer service” approach.

People who ring the police to report a non-emergency crime now get a phone call back from a police officer within two hours.  During this call, an appointment for a home visit by a police officer is scheduled.  The Public Service Team can also refer residents’ concerns to other agencies in the Safer Stockport Partnership, for example the Anti-social Behaviour Action Team or the Community Safety Team which deals with environmental crime such as fly-tipping.

Ann Coffey said: “I was very impressed by the work of the new team. Members of the public are getting a better service and a more convenient response to their calls.  It also seems a good use of police time, and I hope as a result we can continue to see reductions in crime figures in Stockport."

Inspector Val Hussein who is heading up the Public Service Team at Stockport police explained: "Although this new scheme deals with non-emergency crimes, it's not just these victims that will benefit from the service.   It also supports our colleagues on police response teams by relieving the time they would have spent dealing with non-emergency incidents and allowing them to focus on emergency and more serious crimes, such as burglary and robbery.
 
"Pilot trials of the scheme have proven to be very successful and also free up more time to allow police to be more visible on the streets.   We are constantly looking at ways in which we can improve our service to the people of Stockport and we hope that a higher quality of service will be provided to all victims of crime from their first point of call."