West Bay police and community clean district
Community officers with residents after the clean-up
(CNS Local Life): Community officers of the RCIPS recently helped the West Bay community clean up their district. From 6am-9am on Saturday, 17 February, the officers joined a clean-up, followed by assisting with the removal of derelict vehicles. The clean-up was organised by a West Bay Central community group, which formed earlier this year to bring people together to improve the area in which they live.
“Even just coming together on a weekend morning to clear a neighbourhood of trash is a big step in the right direction,” said Katherine Wilks, the committee’s organizer, in an RCIPS press release. “We are very pleased to have the support of the community police officers as we work together to make the West Bay community a better place to live. This community clean-up is just the beginning.”
Following the clean-up, another group of concerned residents approached the West Bay community officers about addressing the ongoing issue of derelict vehicles in the district. The officers then worked with them to organise the collection of vehicles in one area, while at the same time facilitating the assistance of the Department of Environmental Health (DEH) to have the unsightly cars taken to the landfill. By the Monday a number of derelict vehicles from throughout the district were parked outside the West Bay Police Station, waiting for removal to the landfill by the DEH.
“The vehicles come from various places in the district and were transported to the station with the help of a local equipment operator,” said PC Eugene Myles of the Neighbourhood Policing Department.
“The person who owns the property next to the station was also willing to let us temporarily place the vehicles there, so this has been a community effort on all sides, Having the vehicles in one location allows the DEH to remove them all at the same time. We contacted DEH and they were eager to assist.”
Early on the morning of 22 February, the DEH began moving the vehicles, and by midday they all had been removed. This effort follows a similar vehicle roundup that was coordinated in West Bay last year.
“These are the kinds of grassroots efforts that community police officers are eager to support and also initiate,” said Inspector Courtney Myles, head of the RCIPS Community Policing Department. “West Bayers are proud of their district and we look forward to partnering with them, as well as other government departments like DEH, as we increase our community policing efforts this year.”
Category: Civil Service, Police
