Politicians, senior officers and local residents were on hand to welcome the Middleton Park neighborhood policing team to their new home at the St George’s Centre in the heart of Middleton.
Inspector Chris Bowen who has charge of our three wards in South Leeds introduced PC Matt Pashley and Sergeant Paul Denison who head up the Middleton team. He thanked the community for their support and welcome which included a card and a cake saying “you can get an awful lot sorted out over a cuppa and a biscuit”.
“Having the team based at St George’s means they can be straight out on the job in the heart of the community, not spending time travelling from Elland Road.”
Mark Burns-Williamson, the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner spoke about the importance of working together at a local level. He said “Neighbourhood Policing is at the heart of what we do, it is the bedrock.” His words were echoed by Chief Constable Mark Gilmore who thanked the Council for hosting the Middleton team at St George’s and praised their joint work through the Safer Leeds Partnership.
Councillor Kim Groves welcomed the Police team and talked about making services accessible. Some people are intimidated by having to walk into a police station, she said, but when they come in here they could be accessing any of the many services located here. She also praised the community groups in the area who have put pressure on the get the police based in their community.
Policing teams are being reorganised across the city and as South Leeds Life reported previously, the new neighbourhood teams are being aligned with the Council wards. Each ward will have Sergeant and a dedicated PC ‘ward manager’ liaising with partners and the community.
St George’s Centre is one of three One Stop Centres across Leeds piloting new ways of working which will see more services on site and open for longer as staff become a single team. Services already located at St George’s Centre include:
- Library
- Minor Injuries
- Housing
- Council Tax
- Jobshop
- Leeds City Credit Union
