What is Neighbourhood Policing?

Neighbourhood Policing is about creating Safer Neighbourhoods. It is a system that allows police, local partner organisations and residents to work together to tackle problems of crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour. Above all it aims to create neighbourhoods that are safe and feel safe. Surrey Police now has dedicated Neighbourhood Teams in every ward in Guildford Borough.

What is a Neighbourhood?

Many people are familiar with police ‘beats’. Over time, areas can change, as do the needs of the communities living in those areas. With the help of local residents, natural neighbourhoods have been identified across the borough. The borough, contains urban and rural communities so not all neighbourhoods will be the same size or type. Each neighbourhood has its own police team that is accountable to the local community.

Who is in a Neighbourhood Police Team

Guildford has dedicated Neighbourhood Teams that are made up of a mixture of Neighbourhood Specialist Officers (NSO’s), and Police Community Support Officers (PCSO’s) and Community Safety Wardens (CSW’s).

NSO’s – Are police constables dedicated to areas or neighbourhoods and supported by their Neighbourhood Team and it is their job to forge close links with the local residents, traders and partners. The NSO’s help create safer neighbourhoods through their knowledge of local offenders. They deal with important community quality of life issues including low level incivility, anti-social behaviour and disorder.

PCSO’s – PCSO’s are key to how we engage with our communities. They build bridges with the public, provide a reassuring presence, deter crime and make a visible difference to people’s lives. PCSOs can focus on the needs of the community and help create safer neighbourhoods.

CSW’s – CSW’s are employed by Guildford Borough Council and tasked by the Safer Guildford Partnership. They work in ten wards across the borough in areas of particular need and have local offices in their ward. They address local issues that impact on crime and disorder, and the fear of crime that fall outside the responsibility of the police. They also actively support, promote and encourage positive community projects and work to create greater community links and cohesion.

The Neighbourhood Police Teams aim to provide:

• Access to policing or community services through a named point of contact:

You can find out who is responsible for policing your area by visiting http://www.surrey.police.uk/guildford where you will find web pages for each neighbourhood. Each neighbourhood has a dedicated web page providing contact details for your local officer, dates for panel meetings and updates on local issues and concerns affecting your neighbourhood.

• Influence over community safety priorities in your neighbourhood:

Each neighbourhood team works to tackle the problems and issues that exist in their areas. Each team will need your help to identify what is important in your community and will be actively seeking your views. There will be a range of ways that you can have your say, through talking to Neighbourhood Team members, contributing at public meetings, neighbourhood panels, attending street briefings or by contacting your local team by email, telephone or letter. It is residents themselves who define what issues matter most to them and prioritise what gets tackled first.

• Interventions:

Once we know what is important to you, and what your priorities are, your neighbourhood team will work with you and other agencies to solve problems and make a difference.

What can I contact my team about?

You can contact your team about anything to do with community safety. This might include:

• Information about criminal/suspicious behaviour or activity (always dial 999 in an emergency).
• How to increase your personal or community safety.
• Anti-social behaviour
• The appearance of your neighbourhood
• Setting up community groups, eg. Neighbourhood Watch etc.