Chamber of Commerce police officer gets started in Birkenhead

A police officer dedicated to working in the Business Improvement District in Birkenhead town centre started work this week.

The Wirral Chamber of Commerce are providing funding in order to create a dedicated role for the Merseyside Police Officer, Constable Greg Hawkswell, to patrol the Birkenhead town centre area.

The Chamber of Commerce is itself funded via a levy on local businesses, and the officer will focus all of their work on the area occupied by the levy payers.

This will mean he is uniquely able to address those issues that most concern businesses, residents and visitors to the Business Improvement District.

Constable Hawkswell will work with the Wirral Chamber of Commerce with a brief to work with partners to address town centre issues such as antisocial behaviour and retail crime.

Since a similar scheme started in Liverpool city centre, officers have made arrests, dealt with dangerous traffic related issues in pedestrian areas, bike thefts, thefts from pay meters, worked to reduce incidents of drug use around retail areas and worked with partners to address anti-social behaviour.

Community Policing Sergeant Alan McKeon said: "It is our aim that the officer, who is in addition to those who police the town centre every day from our community policing team, will deal with the issues that most affect the business community and retailers.

"Constable Hawkswell’s work will supplement the excellent work carried out by other policing teams in Wirral. He will become a familiar face to businesses in Birkenhead, providing them with a dedicated and personal point of contact to deal with issues affecting them.

"Birkenhead town centre is extremely popular with people wanting to enjoy the shops, restaurant and leisure activities it offers and we want to ensure that this continues by working closely with our partners."