Daventry Town Council sponsors Police Community Support Officer for Daventry Town centre

Daventry Town Council is pleased to announce the appointment of a new Police Community Support Officer (PCSO), Mia Ball, who started her new post on 4^th April 2018.

PSCO Ball's role will be to work predominantly in the town centre under the direction of Daventry and South Northants Neighbourhood Policing Team and Daventry Town Council. Mia will also be working collaboratively with the Town Council's CCTV control room and Community Ranger, providing a frontline service focusing on the community; delivering a visible and reassuring presence and resolving issues.

Cllr Lynne Taylor, Mayor of Daventry and Chair of Council, said of the new appointment, "We are very fortunate in Daventry to have a low level of crime; however, we are not without our pockets of anti-social behaviour. I have every confidence that PCSO Ball, as our new Police Community and Safety Officer will be an encouraging presence to the local community."

PCSO Ball said of her new appointment, "Daventry is a tight and defined community, which I cannot wait to be involved with. I'm looking forward to getting to know my new beat in greater detail and working with the Town Council on their identified priorities as part of the Daventry Neighbourhood Team. Like the other members of the team, I want to be visible, known by name and sight, and engaged with all members of the Daventry community."

The Police Crime Commission advised that PCSO's have been created to empower communities and further joint working initiatives between local partners and the police, the 'Sponsor a PCSO programme' runs in 12-month cycles and will see up to 12 new sponsored PCSOs operating across the county in areas where local organisations, such as parish councils and business districts, have opted to cover the full cost of the role.

Sponsored PCSOs will work within their local policing teams and remain directly accountable to the local policing Sergeant. The local Sergeant will work with the sponsoring organisation to identify local priorities and meet with them on a regular basis to ensure the community's needs are being met.

The scheme has no effect on the service a community receives from the core policing team – Sponsored PCSOs are designed to supplement and enhance the work of Northamptonshire Police in their specific area.

Daventry Town Council have agreed to sponsor the PCSO scheme for a trial term of 12 months. Once this trial period is near completion, Daventry Town Council will review the long-term benefits of sponsoring a PCSO in the town centre and will consider the continuation of the sponsorship into 2019/2020.