Victims of yobs offered police hotline

Apr 25 2008 by Paul Mannion, Chester Chronicle

A FAST phone hotline has been set up for businesses and homes suffering from repeat anti-social behaviour problems.

From this weekend, repeat victims of yob trouble, vandalism and noisy neighbours will be given a dedicated phone number for Frodsham police community support officers (PCSOs) Kay Swindlehurst and Helsby PCSO Chris Maddocks in a bid to speed up police response times.

Chris said: “We wanted to offer people in Frodsham and Helsby a more hands-on approach to dealing with persistent anti-social behaviour and decided the best way forward was to set up a designated phone for those experiencing problems.

“We will draw up a list of people who need access to the Fast Phone service and will rotate these on a week-by-week basis ensuring the system is fair and available to as many people as possible.”

These residents and businesses can then reach the officers whenever they are experiencing anti-social behaviour problems which can be dealt with quickly by officers who have a knowledge of the area and the individuals.

Inspector Phil Hodgson said: “All officers are aware of the misery caused by those who continue to act in this manner and the scheme will seek to address this by giving local residents a direct line to neighbourhood officers who will be deployed specifically to deal with anti-social behaviour.”

The number for the phone, which was donated by Tesco in Helsby, will be rotated regularly to ensure it stays clear and is not abused.