Working with your divisional police station

Community policing works when contact between residents and their division continues between incidents, not only during them.

Know your division

Find out which division covers your address and where it is. In an incident, the time spent establishing this is time you do not have.

Raising a recurring concern

A pattern — repeated thefts in a market, a junction where traffic conflict keeps occurring, a poorly lit stretch used for robbery — is better raised collectively than individually. Residents' associations, market associations and transport unions carry more weight and give the division something it can plan around.

Making a report useful

• Give the time and location as precisely as you can.
• Describe what you saw rather than what you concluded.
• Note vehicle registrations, direction of travel and distinguishing features.
• Keep your own record of the report and any reference given.

Engagement sessions

Where your division holds scheduled community engagement sessions, attend them. Matters raised in that setting are logged and reviewed at command level, and you can follow up on what was said at the previous session.