Policing pods have been rolled out across hotspot crime areas where ramped up patrols have seen some violent offences fall by nearly a third, a police chief has said.
Sussex Police has set up the mobile cabins to boost targeted action across seven towns using a £1.4 million Home Office cash pot to crack down on antisocial behaviour and serious violence this year.
Since launching the hotspot policing team in April, patrols have been stepped up with an additional 10,000 hours across the county.
Force bosses said the move has led to a cut in overall crime by 14% in 29 key areas compared to last year.
Two pods were introduced earlier this year, with an extra five including in Brighton installed in the last week, costing around £12,000 each.
Sussex Police chief inspector Jim Loader said: “These pods are a really visible sign that we are here, that we are working these areas, that we’re aware that these are our hot spots, and that we want to work with the communities and our partners to make these areas safer.
“We’ve already seen as a result of our work since April this year, in our hot spots, reductions in crime.
“We’ve seen a 14% reduction in overall crime in our hotspot locations, we’ve seen nearly a 30% reduction in GBH offences, one of our more serious offences, and also seen a reduction in antisocial behaviour crimes across these hotspots as well.”
Speaking from the New Road pod in Brighton, the police chief said officers have had positive feedback from people and businesses in the area who feel safer and reassured.
The small huts act as a point of contact between police and the public, and host a table and two chairs with leaflets and a first aid box.
Other pods have been installed in Crawley, Hastings, Eastbourne, Horsham, Worthing and Chichester.
Chief inspector Loader added it is up to officers how to staff the “versatile tool” in each “unique” hotspot area.
“It’s often the staffing officers will spend a couple of hours here at a time and engage with communities and the people that live in the area, but they won’t be working out of these full time,” he added.
“They’ll still be out patrolling and patrolling areas wider than just this pod.”
He continued: “These are permanent fixtures. We bought these, and these remain here.
“We can move them if we see a need to change and a need to move these locations in accordance with the local authority agreements.
“But they are our pods, they’re here to stay.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article