Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner Angelique Foster has penned a column following her recent visit to Glossop, including an update on policing plans for the area.

Wherever you live in Derbyshire, I know that having a strong, visible police presence is important to you. It is important to me too. I want every community in Derbyshire to feel supported by the police and confident in their capacity to help them when called upon.

A strong police presence is a key priority for me and it will be central to the goals set out in my Police and Crime Plan. I know how important it is that residents in the North and North East Derbyshire see the police service they pay for and I am in constant discussions with the Chief Constable to make that happen.

As part of my manifesto, I promised I would continually drive efficiencies in order to enable the force to invest into frontline policing wherever possible.

This involves a full review of our assets and making sure they are not only fit for purpose but also will enable the Force to meet current and future policing needs.

In Glossop, for example, I am working hard to identify practical solutions that will enable the force to retain its presence in the area. Like other assets across the force, Glossop Police station is too big for purpose which presents a challenge economically. However, we are looking at ways to better utilise the space, potentially transforming it into a multi-agency hub and keep police officers in the heart of the community.

Earlier this month, I visited Glossop Mountain Rescue Team (MRT), which operates from the station. The site is critical to the MRT’s operating model as it enables rapid deployment to incidents that would be more difficult from further afield.

This highlights the merit in sharing our accommodation with other services that rely on an accessible and central community presence.

I’m keen to have a strong footprint across the county, and plans are underway for improving the existing assets in the North East with a dedicated hub and custody facility for the area.

Working closely with the Chief Constable, who has confirmed her commitment to providing a strong police presence in the area, I will bring other partners on-board to form multiagency hubs. Early discussions are underway, and this is clearly the preferable approach. More than 90 per cent of the people who responded to my recent survey agreed or strongly agreed that ‘strong local policing’ should be a top priority for Derbyshire.

The Chief Constable and I agree that we need a strong policing footprint in the north and of course, this will be backed with additional police officers from the national uplift programme. With recruitment currently on target, I am keen to see that residents receive consistency in their police service and feel safe wherever they live in the County.

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