POLICING in Wokingham and Reading are to be shaken up as part of a plan to reduce the number of command areas.
At the moment, there are 11 local areas but Thames Valley Police is reducing that to five: Buckinghamshire, Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire, Berkshire West and Berkshire East. Roll-out of the changes will be phased, with the change introduced in Buckinghamshire, with other areas to follow next year.
However, the force hopes the changes will allow them to double the number of police constables in Neighbourhood Teams, which will mean more bobbies able to tackle crime across the region. It is also hoped it will lead to more connect with the communities they serve, bringing the police and public closer together.
There will be 80 new officers funded by the office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, and the force is to introduce more supervisor roles. Some PCSO roles that are currently vacant will become police officer roles designed to support neighbourhood policing.
Thames Valley Police says that with no clear career progression and lack of consistent supervision, the PCSO role is currently difficult to recruit and retain. To help combat this, a new PCSO supervisor role will be created.
Twenty officers will work specifically in schools, building relationships with young people and education professionals, and 10 officers will have specialist training for mental health-related issues.
A Harm Reduction Unit is to be introduced to help vulnerable people and there will be increased resourcing for victims of domestic abuse.
Thames Valley Police also says the restructure will enable it to be more flexible, and deploying resources in response to demand.
On response times to 999 calls, Thames Valley Police is maintaining the locations of its current response bases, and it is hoped that with more officers based in neighbourhoods, overall response times will be reduced. It is hoped this will create improvements.
The changes come after several rounds of consultation, including with local authorities as well as the public. More than 500 responses were submitted.
Deputy Chief Constable Ben Snuggs said: “We are absolutely committed to local policing. We want these changes to clearly demonstrate that neighbourhood policing is at the heart of effective policing across the Thames Valley.
“We have undertaken an extensive piece of work with our workforce, with partners, key stakeholders and the public to review our local policing structure. I would like to thank everyone who shared their thoughts with us through our survey earlier this year. Your responses have really helped shape our work and inform decision-making.
“These changes will allow us to build stronger relationships with our communities, and we will continue to work with them to identify and address issues earlier, prevent more crime and harm, such as anti-social behaviour, domestic abuse and exploitation, and keep people safe.”
