By Isle of Wight Observer
Members of the Sandown Bay Neighbourhood Policing Team are adopting Shanklin’s Post Office.
The national ‘adopt a Post Office’ scheme has seen police forces across the UK team up with the Post Office to provide communities additional opportunities to engage with their local Neighbourhood Policing Teams.
Ten areas across rural Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight have trialled the scheme since 2016, and the feedback has been positive.
In that time on the Isle of Wight Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Steve Oatley has already incorporated Post Office counters in local shops and café’s at: Godshill, Niton, Chale Green, & Whitwell, into his beat surgery calendar.
The PCSO’s involved have found it to be a great way to reach a wide cross-section of society, and in particular vulnerable groups, with crime prevention messages.
As well as having a dedicated space to display crime prevention information, regular beat surgeries and community events are also held at the post office.
The scheme provides customers and staff regular contact with their local officers, which has been found to provide re-assurance and to prevent scams or fraud by speaking to specific groups who may be withdrawing money at the counter.
Following the trial PCSO Jacqui May will formally adopt Shanklin’s Post Office on Regent Street on behalf of the Neighbourhood Policing Team on Monday 18 June.
The team will hold beat surgeries there on a Monday every fortnight starting from 18 June between 10.00am – 11.30am.
PCSO Jacqui May said: “This is a great way for members of the public to speak to their Neighbourhood Policing Team Officers about any concerns they may have while they’re out shopping. The Post Office remains at the heart of communities, and this is an important opportunity for us to provide additional information and reassurance to residents.
“The aim is to speak to people who we might otherwise struggle to engage with. We’ll be passing on important information like warning against distraction burglary, bogus callers, scams, and courier fraud. The launch couldn’t have come at a better time, as June is ‘Scam Awareness Month’.”
The Post Master for Shanklin’s Post Office, Lynn Lambourne said: ”At the Post Office we see this as an opportunity to enhance relationships with the Police and the community”
