Police presence back in Edlington

Edlington Police Station is back in use today after a high profile launch, with some of Doncaster’s most senior police officers in attendance.

Assistant Chief Constable David Hartley and Doncaster police chief Chief Supt Shaun Morley both gave speeches announcing the new opening, which came as officers hit the streets of Edlington today, including police on horseback.

The move will see Edlington have its own community officers, with a sergeant, four PCs and three PCSOs. Previously it shared a pool of officers based at Mexborough.

Mr Harley said Doncaster was going to get more police as part of a recruitment campaign, with more than 50 extra officers by the end of the year. He said: “The future for neighbourhood policing is really bright. It is about having locally based police officers and PSCOs, that people can go to and approach with any issues.

“It is about dealing with things early and stopping crime from happening.”

It is part of a wider increase in the number of community officers across the county. Dedicated community officers were already in place for Edlington late last year, but based in Mexborough. From today, their base is Edlington.

Edlington’s new MP, Nick Fletcher, was pleased to see the police station re-open. He said: “This is amazing for Edlington. It is going to mean the people of Edlington feeling safer and secure.”

Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones said since October there had been a 14 per cent fall in crime in Edlington and a 44 per cent fall in antisocial behaviour.

Mayor of Edlington, Keri Anderson, said the move was welcome, but she thought what was meant by the police station being ‘open’ may not be what people expect. She said people would not be able to report crimes there, and it would not be open 24 hours a day.

“The level of criminality round here has been deeply embedded and something needed to be done,” she added.

New Sgt Liam Watson said there had been underreporting of crime and people should pick up the phone and call.