Page 16 - Phonebox Magazine February 2014

Make a Difference
Volunteering For Northamptonshire Police
Volunteering is at the heart of my vision to make Northamptonshire the safest place in the country. One year on from being elected as the county’s first police and crime commissioner, I have been
inspired by the many volunteers I have met who so generously give their time to making a difference where they live.
From special constables to our young police cadets and police staff volunteers, there are so many different ways Northamptonshire residents can become involved with Northamptonshire Police and make a contribution to our county. Northamptonshire Police currently has around 285 special constables complementing the 1,220 regular police officers. My ambition is to increase this to 900 special constables by this time next year.
Whilst we are especially keen to recruit more special constables, not everyone necessarily wants to be involved in front-line policing or out in our town centres at weekends. There are other ways people help and I am taking a new approach to volunteering. On taking office in November 2012, I asked the chief constable to ask every department across the force – from the dangerous persons unit to roads policing – to identify opportunities for using volunteers. There are a wide range of skills, specialisms and interests that people have developed through their working lives and I am asking people across our county to consider bringing these skills to Northamptonshire Police as a volunteer.
A school teacher, who has all of the necessary experience of teaching children in schools and understanding them, could volunteer their time to educate children about crime. A retired accountant could volunteer their expertise to assist the force’s fraud teams. Someone with a background in IT could volunteer to assist the covert operations team. Volunteering opportunities are as varied as admin support to acting in riot training scenarios. Also, you will know the problems and concerns of your local community and by volunteering, you could contribute directly to how such issues are dealt with. Volunteer Police Officers contributed significantly more hours in 2013 than in 2012 and contributed a great deal to make our county a safer place to live and work. It is clear that volunteering can enhance our capabilities, and give villages across our county a dedicated policing presence. Looking ahead, I will also be bringing forward proposals to overhaul how the force polices rural areas such as yours, which will include the creation of dedicated rural policing teams. The priorities in more rural areas such as yours differ greatly from our urban areas, and it is important that the force can respond to them effectively.
Please consider volunteering for Northamptonshire Police and help us spread the word by telling your friends and family about volunteering to help us in our mission to recruit more volunteers. Together we can achieve so much more and take steps forward to achieving the ambition of making Northamptonshire the safest place in the country.
If you are interested in volunteering, or if you have any further questions about any of the work I am carrying out, please do not hesitate to contact me further on the following e-mail address: commissioner@northantspcc.pnn.police.uk
For regular updates http://www.northantspcc.org.uk/signup.aspx
16 Phonebox Magazine
Adam Simmonds Northamptonshire Police & Crime Commissioner
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Newport Pagnell Fire
A
Cllr Douglas McCall
large fire started about 2pm in the afternoon of the 15th January
in the Liebherr Building in Renny Park Road, Newport Pagnell.
This is next to North Crawley Road and Hopton Grove where I
asked the chief constable to live. As the warehouse was only 100 yardsufrnoitmtomryoahdosuspeolIicwinags – to id
quickly on the scene. In fact I was there besfokirlels,thsepeFciriaeliBsmrigsaadned intere asking people across our cou
and saw many of the workers outside of the building. Some were clearly upset
while others were worried about their jobs. volunteer.
The building had been quickly evacuated and everyone got out of the building
safely, although staff had to leave behind personal possessions which were destroyed in the fire. understanding them,
could accountant could volunteer t The fire spread very quickly and the 60m by 80m buildbaincgkgwroausncdoimn pITlecteoluyld volun destroyed. The Fire Brigade were quickly on the scene,abreutatshevabriueidldainsgawdmasin suppo
too far gone to be saved. and concerns of your local c such issues are dealt with.
Eight fire engines and sixty fire fighters attended the scene, with fire fighters from Newport Pagnell, Olney, Broughton, Bletchley, Great Holm, Buckingham,
Aylesbury, Princes Risborough, Stokenchurch, Woburn and Dunstable present.
There was an impact on the surrounding area with a number of roads being
enhance our capabilities, an closed – I was inside the cordon. Nearby residents lost Lthoeoikrinwgataehresaudp,pIlywaillsalso be the water went to fight the fire and stop it spreading to thaerenaesasrubcyhparospyeorutiress, .which wi
The warehouse is only a roads width from residential housing and with the
thick, black, acrid smoke residents were concerned. Luckily, the prevailing
wind was away from the houses. Please consider volunteering The next day the Environment Agency and Anglia Water were on site to deal
with contaminated water entering the sewage system. As I write this five days
after the fire, there is still the smell of burnt plastic in the air.
There were other agencies involved including Thames Valley Police and Milton
Keynes Council. If you are interested in volunt
As the local Councillor for the area I am delighted that everyone got out safely,
but I think there are some questions that need to be asked.
1. Why did a warehouse that had such combustible material not have sprinklers.
2. Why has residential housing been built so close to a warehouse full of such
inflammable material?
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commissioner@northantspcc.
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http://www.northantspcc.org.u
Adam Simmonds Northamptonshire Police & Cr
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