Swindon’s Community Policing Shop opened officially this morning (19/07) in the town centre.
Swindon Community Policing Team South have been donated a retail space in the The Brunel shopping centre for the shop, which was first introduced back in November and was such a huge success they decided to set up another, this time for summer.
Sgt David Tippetts, from the Swindon South Community Policing Team, said: “More than 1,100 members of the public paid the shop a visit during the festive period to engage with officers and partner agencies so it made sense to set up another on the back of its success.
“This space is an ideal way of engaging with the local community; it shows a reassuring police presence in the town centre as well as offering people the chance to pop in for a chat and a cuppa.
“We can find out what issues people have as well as offering crime prevention advice.”
The Bobby Van, which will also be on hand to offer crime prevention advice for older and more vulnerable people, is supporting the shop along with The Brunel shopping centre and inSwindon BID.
David Tippetts added: “This shop happens thanks to the hard work of our officers and our partners. A lot of work has gone in to this to hopefully make this another success.
“There are many ways to contact the police these days but often we find that people prefer the face-to-face contact to raise any concerns or ask for any advice, so we would encourage people to pay us a visit in our new premises over the next few weeks.”
An agenda for the shop demonstrating the many aspects of policing work will include a visit by the police dogs and their handlers, the Drone Unit, the Digital Investigations and Intelligence Unit and the Recruitment Department.
The shop is located on the ground floor of the Brunel Plaza opposite Sainsburys, next to The Cutting Bar and will be open 10am until 2pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays between July 19 and August 10.