A NEW community base model for policing has been launched in Halton.

Cheshire police and crime commissioner David Keane and acting chief constable Janette McCormick came to Widnes to open one of the constabulary's 122 community hubs.

Upton Community Centre on Hough Green Road is the first of 17 community bases which is being set up across Widnes and Runcorn to enable police community support officers to spend more time in the heart of the communities they serve.

The opening completes the commissioner’s and acting chief’s tour of the county to open a community base in each of Cheshire’s four local authority areas to launch the new model.

Housed in existing buildings, the bases will provide a facility for PCSOs to hold regular surgeries or have confidential discussions with victims, witnesses and other members of the public.

PCSOs will also be able to begin and end their daily shift at their community base to increase the amount of time they have to meet local residents and deal with local issues.

Mr Keane said: “I am proud that we’ve been able to introduce a police base and PCSO for every community across Cheshire to help re-establish community policing across the county.

“When I was elected I promised the Cheshire residents ‘more feet on the beat’ and this model is helping us put community officers back where they belong.

“Under the previous model, some PCSOs were travelling miles each day to the community they were based in, wasting valuable time that they could be spending in their communities.

“The new bases will help increase police interaction with individual communities, providing a named, recognisable officer and an easily accessible police base for local residents in shared community buildings at no extra cost to the taxpayer.”

The opening event was also attended by Widnes chief inspector Simon Parsonage, PCSO Paul Mines and PC Chris Hull with Halton Cllr Phil Harris and representatives from the communities team at Halton Council.

The commissioner and acting chief constable were briefed on local issues in the area by PCSO Mines before taking part in a patrol around Hough Green.

Acting chief constable Janette McCormick said: “We are delighted to be able to open these bases at the heart of each community in Cheshire.

“This will bring policing closer to the communities we serve and will mean our community officers are more accessible and local residents are able to directly speak to PCSOs in their areas.

“It will also ensure officers are more visible in the rural areas of the county, as well as the towns and cities, tackling local issues and working with local people on issues of concern to them.

“Furthermore, all of the local areas now have their own Twitter account and 'alert’ where local residents can keep updated on issues at the heart of their community or contact their local officers.”

The constabulary is broken up into eight local policing units (LPUs).

Here is the full list of community bases in Halton.

Community bases in Runcorn:

Grangeway Youth and Community Centre

Halton Brook Children’s Centre

Heath Business Park

Halton Direct Link

Sandymoor School

Castlefields Community Centre

Runcorn Library

Brookvale Community Centre

Murdishaw Community Centre

Community bases in Widnes:

Brennan Lodge

Victoria Road Library

Catalyst Museum

Halton Housing Trust, Naughton Fields

Upton Community Centre

Hale Village Hall

The Bridewell

Halton Housing Trust, Waterfront Point

To find out more about local policing and who your local PCSO visit cheshire.police.uk/local-policing/runcorn or www.cheshire.police.uk/local-policing/widnes