What the Police are doing in Westhoughton
Police officers attend a crime scene on Market Street, Westhoughton
Liberal Democrat councillors today met with Greater Manchester Police to discuss policing issues in Westhoughton. Here’s what they told us they are doing.
Councillors David Wilkinson, Ollie Younge, Arthur Price and Alison Jackson attended the meeting with Police representatives.
Other political representatives, the CEO of The Hub, a member of the public and a journalist from The Bolton News also attended.
The “Police and Community Together” (PACT) meetings will be held every 3 months and it was a great opportunity to share concerns.
The Police told us:
They are aiming for more local coverage and they are out of special measures with greatly improved response times.
999 calls are answered within 2 mins and attendance is achieved in under 15 minutes.
For other than emergencies they advise the community to ring Crime Stoppers on tel 0800 555 111
They share our priorities and concerns about drug dealing, anti-social behaviour, and speeding.
But they reassured us Westhoughton has a low crime rate.
They are also very focused on responding to incidents of domestic violence.
David Wilkinson ensured we know how to get a police response and we were reassured with the new timescales.
David also asked if the public can expect a response to burglary and the police said they attend every burglary and look at any CCTV evidence.
Ollie Younge asked for a regular police response around Quakerfields and a PCSO will visit the area very soon. Ollie said that the community feel they need a police presence to offer them reassurance, given a number of residents are older or have a disability.
We also shared concerns about speeding and made suggestions on particularly bad areas such as Chew Moor Lane, Church Street and Hartford Road. The Police will target these areas in June and July.
