Your Neighbourhood Policing Team undertakes the traditional policing tasks of responding to calls for assistance, of investigating crimes and catching criminals, of keeping people and property safe. However, its overall aim is to deliver local policing to communities focusing on those issues that really matter to them. To that end we work with communities to identify issues that really matter locally and agree neighbourhood priorities. These local priorities are set through the LAT.

We will then work with you and with other agencies to find solutions to these priorities; meeting regularly to update you on progress, highlighting what action is being taken, and identify new priorities when necessary.

I would ask all LATS when deciding their local priorities to make them as specific as possible; this really helps us in identifying solutions that work.

When tackling a local priority your local officer will scan the issue using data from police and council records to analyse what is happening, to whom, where, when and by whom. They will then implement a number of solutions which may be focused on the offender, the victim, the location or more usually all three. After a few weeks they will repeat the process to see if these interventions have been successful.

Across the city some current local priorities are: nuisance off road motor cycling, poor parking, fly tipping, youth related anti-social behaviour and drug dealers.

Every month each Neighbourhood Policing Team hold a joint agency group meeting (JAG), where the various agencies and service providers discuss how they can assist the LATS with their priorities. This ensures that real action can be taken to achieve meaningful result.

Inspector Bill Whitehead

East Brighton Neighbourhood Policing Team Inspector