Meet Melton's dedicated beat bobbies

The Melton Times was granted the opportunity to get up close and personal to the local neighbourhood policing team at their station HQ on King Street.

These are dedicated beat officers whose job is to become a visible presence in the community and build up trusting relationships with local people.

They can often also get the call to assist Melton’s response officers deal with serious criminal activity and emergency incidents.

What may surprise many are the jobs that many of the neighbourhood policing team used to – they have backgrounds in the funeral sector, a health spa, dog kennels and the NHS, for example.

Pc Andrew French has been based at the Melton station for years after working for a funeral directors for a quarter of a century,

"Building up relationships with local people is key to what we do, particularly in rural areas,” he said.

"There is nothing better than getting out of the car and talking to people. Nobody can talk to you when you are travelling at 30mph.”

He is working closely with Pc Natalie Dandy, who has been a police officer for less than a month.

They cover the Melton Rural beat, a wide area which includes 38 villages, responding to rural crime, road safety and other incidents as well as engaging with the locals.

Pc Dandy, who previously worked in dog kennels near Loughborough, commented: “I always wanted to be a police officer. I’ve learned a lot already.

“It is a very interesting job. Every day is different.”

There are similarities in the career Pc Shane Sanderson used to have before joining Leicestershire Police.

A Geordie who served in the Royal Navy, he was drafted into the Melton neighbourhood team after being stationed with the navy at an RAF base in Rutland.

"The code of ethics and the rank structure is very similar in the police to what it is in the navy,” he said.

“But there is no job which prepares you for working in the police force.

“My first shift ended up being 15 hours and the next day I was sat at a desk doing paperwork and didn’t leave the station.

"The navy is far more structured and you don’t do overtime.”

One of the biggest challenges for any new police officer is there is no guarantee they will be eased into the job.

One of Pc Lucy Baxter’s first call-outs was to attend the scene of a stabbing incident in which the victim later died.

She says the experience helped to fast-track her learning about the skills and responsibilities required.

Pc Baxter said she has no fears confronting suspects even if they are much bigger than her: “I’ve always been hands on.

"I see no difference in me being a female officer.

"If someone is standing in front of me I would deal with them just like a male officer would.

"I don’t think ‘I’m a woman, I can’t do this’.

“I’m 5ft 2ins, I’m tiny. But I would always respond.”

It is sometimes difficult for officers not to take their work home if they’ve been at a traumatic scene but they are grateful to have have access to one-to-one counselling and additional support if it is required.

There have been debates about whether British police officers should be armed after recent gun and knife incidents.

Melton’s neighbourhood team have the option of deploying a taser to prevent violent situations escalating.

Pc Sanderson explained: “It is a four day training course but very little of that involves actually firing the taser.

“It is mainly about decision-making in a pressure situation and when you might need to fire it.”

The neighbourhood team is managed by Sgt James Porter, who has been stationed at Melton for five years.

Sgt Porter said: “Our roles are providing a policing visibility and managing long term problems in the community.

"We are dedicated to smaller areas so we can build up relationships with local people.”

He said anti-social behaviour had been a persistent issue in Melton, particularly in the town centre.

There was a recent spate of incidents involving a group of young people causing disruption in shops, cafes and in the street.

“With Melton being a small market town, these incidents can have a big impact on local people,” said Sgt Porter.

Shop lifting has also been a problem, with a small number of offenders committing multiple offence, although the team say they are bringing this under control by arresting some of those responsible, leading to them being served with criminal behaviour orders keeping them away from certain areas and banning them from shops.

Officers deal with an increasing number of incidents sparked by offenders with mental health issues.

They have access to calling in a mental health car with NHS support in the most serious cases.

“A lot of the people who come into custody have faced challenges in their childhood and this is also true of the majority of people who end up in prison,” said Sgt Porter.

A knife crime campaign is set to be run across the county soon, with Melton’s officers going into schools to warn about the dangers of carrying blades and setting up knife arches outside pubs.

Leicestershire Police is always on the lookout for new recruits and Pc French would recommend it as a career.

He added: “If people genuinely want to help others then police work is a great job for them.

“There are lot of names in your phone of people you work with in the police. You know they would drop everything and come and help if you needed them.”