Both want to tackle issues, such as anti-social behaviour, and create an ’initial point of contact’ for Onchan residents who have queries they don’t wish to call 999 about.
Graham Corran, police sergeant of the eastern neighbourhood specialist team, said: ’It’s a joint way of working, sometimes the commissioners will receive an inquiry which requires joint focus, so there’s a crossover there and we can work together to solve certain inquiries.’
’Onchan Commissioners have always been very positive about the idea and I really don’t see a downside to it.’
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It comes as a result of residents noticing a lack of police presence in the village.
Mr Corran continued: ’Residents were calling for more of a presence in Onchan, so we’re doing that but not in such a direct way.
’The commissioners decorated an interview room for us, it’s very private and is a liaison room for us rather than a police station.
’We can take the odd statement but it’s mostly for advice and inquiries.’
He also cited those with ’mobility issues’ as another reason to create a contact point closer to those in the village.
Currently, the closest police station is the police headquarters on Dukes Avenue in Douglas.
Onchan used to have its own station but it closed over seven years ago.
Ramsey and Castletown both currently have police using local government buildings as a base for their operations.
This is a similar setup to the one being introduced in Onchan.
opportunity
Mr Corran explained there was an opportunity to expand this idea further.
’There is an opportunity to expand it elsewhere but it all depends on funding and the local government area, it’s what they want,’ he continued.
The idea to use the authority’s community building first came about in 2013 when commissioners felt police presence had declined since the station had shut.
Derek Crellin, chairman of Onchan District Commissioners, felt the partnership would be a successful one.
He said: ’I think it will be received very well by the public, I really do.
’We’ve had enquiries in relation to the police in the district and that they have access to the offices.
’It’s just a place where the public can visit from time to time really and it’s in a good location - everyone knows where we are.’
Mr Crellin said he encourages the public to use the room.
’It’s a facility we want the public to use, it’s for other government agencies as well if they wish to use them,’ he said.
He added: ’There’s no reason why they can’t use the same room.
’It’s multi-purpose and can be used for various reasons.’
Police did a soft launch this week and have already seen positive results from this.
’Hopefully going forward it’ll be successful and become part of the community,’ said Mr Corran, ’it’s a dedicated thing for Onchan residents.’
The room will be open on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the police to use as a base for operations.