Blog: I have often heard people fondly refer to the romantic idea of the local bobby on the beat, someone everyone knew and every naughty child feared; a friendly but firm familiar face; a welcome and regular sight on the neighbourhood’s streets.

There is much in this description that still rings true and is reflected in modern policing, but time and crime have moved on and so has the police service, writes Acting Chief Inspector Richard Langton.

Today’s police service needs to be a balance of local and response policing, supported by specialist departments such as CID and Forensic Science Services.

However, within West Mercia Police we place huge importance in local policing and the visibility, accessibility and familiarity of the police and community support officers working to keep your neighbourhoods safe. Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that we police with the consent of the community, are part of that community and must listen to the community in order to identify the issues and concerns that affect the lives of those we serve.

There are 20 Local Policing Teams (LPTs) in the Borough of Telford & Wrekin which are based on existing parish boundaries to assist us to work with our partners in a joined-up way. Each team consists of a local police officer and one or more community support officers. The LPTs are supervised by sergeants with four local policing inspectors across the division.

In order to provide a way for our communities to engage with us we have devised what we call ‘ PACT’ (Partners and Communities Together). PACT gives you an opportunity to have your voice heard and to have a say in how your neighbourhood is policed. There are many ways of taking part in PACT: meetings, face to face surveys, surgeries, postcards … we have improved access to your local policing officers by providing contact phone numbers and email addresses if you have access to the internet, and we’re committed through the Policing Pledge to responding to any messages within 24 hours if we’re not there to answer them straight away.

Together we can agree priorities for the police and partners to concentrate on and PACT can also provide you with the feedback on how we are progressing with your concerns.

Each Local Policing Team has its own web pages on the West Mercia Police internet site and you can use this site to contact your local team, find details of your next PACT event and current priorities. You can even use enter your post code to find out about crime in your area.

• Visit the local policing site here

LPTs have a wide remit and may find themselves giving a presentation in a primary school one day and executing a drug search warrant the next.

In fact, Local Policing Teams in the Telford area have had a great deal of success in closing down a number of significant drug production “factories” through information provided by local residents.

We rely entirely on the support and information of the public to enable us to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour and to work with us to solve long term problems in the community. We can’t be everywhere at once but please know that although you may not have seen your team out and about in your area, they are there and want to hear your concerns.

I believe that in Telford & Wrekin we have got the right balance between the need to service the calls that require a prompt or emergency response with the expectation of our communities to provide them with a local friendly team they can come to know and trust. Please don’t allow your voice to go unheard! Come and talk to us, or leave a message or email, or come to your next PACT event.

We will listen to you and work with you to ensure that you have a say in how your neighbourhood is policed.

If you would like to find out more about your Local Policing Team please pop into your nearest station, give us a call or visit our website here: http://www.westmercia.police.uk/localpolicing

• Richard Langton is a Local Policing Inspector with responsibility for Wellington. He is currently a Temporary Chief Inspector based at Malinsgate, and his work at Wellington is being covered by Inspector Becky Harper.