Neighbourhood Policing in Carmarthenshire

Neighbourhood policing is all about getting the right people in the
right place at the right time. In order to do that the police must
know what the community wants and needs. We want to find out what your
priorities are and work in partnership to improve the quality of life
for us all. We are very lucky to live in one of the safest areas in
the United Kingdom. We must not take this for granted and we must
continue to talk to each other and be prepared to solve problems for the
benefit of the community as a whole.

We will strive to identify with the public their priorities and
let the community know at regular intervals how we are progressing in
resolving the issues. To do that we must have the support of the
public, in the form of attending meetings, responding to
questionnaires and taking the opportunity to meet your local officers
whilst they are on patrol or at the many surgeries that take place
throughout the county.

Background

Carmarthenshire has taken the lead within the Dyfed-Powys Force
in piloting the introduction of the Government’s Neighbourhood
Policing programme. This aims to make the local officers and Police
Community Support Officers (PCSOs) responsible for policing your
area familiar and trusted faces within the local community.

A great deal of work has been done to
identify specific geographical areas where policing neighbourhoods
can be established and to resource these effectively. A key element
of this new approach is the identification of what concerns you and
then involving local communities in finding and implementing
solutions to specific problems. This has been achieved through the
Community Network Areas established by Carmarthenshire County
Council as well as through town and community councils and local
groups throughout the county.

To support this work, we have established a number of community
bases (the most recent of these being at Trinity College in
Carmarthen), held regular surgeries with local people to understand
their problems and concerns and increased visibility and
reassurance by providing dedicated patrol officers.