Community Support Officers


Being a Community Support Officer in Blackbrook

By CSOs Samantha Cox and Neil Draper

We began work as the Community Support Officers covering the Blackbrook Ward in April this year and work from Newton Police Station in Earlestown.

Since we began, we’ve been out on regular foot patrols, providing a reassuring, highly visible presence on the streets and have been introducing ourselves to the local residents and business community. We’ve also had regular contact with the local schools and developed relationships with the community centre, the Tenants and Residents House, the Rangers at Sankey Valley as well as local councillors.

We attend as many community meetings as possible and interact with the local community on a daily basis, finding out what issues matter to them, informing them of what we are doing to tackle those issues and letting them know we are here to help.

Local surgery

We have set up a Surgery which is held every second Tuesday of the month from 3 - 4pm at the Tenants & Residents House, Bidston Avenue.

We would encourage residents to come along and meet us, tell us what issues are important to them and use the opportunity to get a wealth of crime prevention information. In addition, we’ve set up a further surgery on 28 September between 6– 7pm at the Rangers Office, Sankey Valley Park. Please come along and meet us.

School visits

We are regular visitors at St Mary’s Blackbrook Primary School and have recently been involved with a walk to school session, encouraging children and parents to walk to school rather than taking the car.

In addition, we gave a presentation on road safety, stranger danger and personal safety to the children prior to the school holidays. We felt it was really important that all the children should be made aware of some dangers they may encounter, so that they could enjoy their summer holidays in safety.

As it is the school holidays, we arranged an Activity Day on Friday (26 August) at Chain Lane Community Centre for 6 - 10 year olds, giving children and parents an alternative option for fun day out.

Our role also involves being involved with problem solving at a local level, working in partnership with other agencies such as the Council’s Environmental Wardens and Housing Associations and targeting areas that experience problems with youth disorder.

We will continue to develop links with local shops, businesses, vulnerable and community groups as well as local residents, working with you to make the area a safer, more pleasant place for residents and visitors alike.

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