A NEW policing model will be operational across south Cambridgeshire from today (April 2).

Cambridgeshire police is now divided into six areas in line with district boundaries and will see uniformed officers, detectives, PCSOs and special constables working together as a unit.

Chief Inspector Darren Alderson is the area commander for South Cambridgeshire, and is now responsible for initial response to incidents, the investigation of crimes and incidents, neighbourhood policing, engagement and partnership arrangements, anti-social behaviour and crime reduction.

Reporting to Chief Insp Alderson is Inspector Chris Savage, who remains in charge of community policing across south Cambridgeshire. He has been joined by a dedicated crime manager, Det Insp Ian Simmons.

Ch Insp Alderson said: “My team and I are committed to providing a high level of service to the community and will continue to relentlessly purse those who choose to commit crime in South Cambridgeshire.

“I am working closely with South Cambridgeshire District Council on pushing forward activities to help us all help ourselves, and to this end I would like residents to report any suspicious activity as the community can be the helping eyes and ears that enable me to direct my staff to where they will have the most significant impact.

“Together we can make criminals feel unwelcome, so let’s work together to create a safer South Cambridgeshire.”

Chief Supt Andy Hebb, local policing commander, said: “The new local policing model was developed to reduce costs while maintaining the level of service the public receive.

“In fact the number of officers on the frontline will remain the same so in terms of visible officers the public shouldn’t see any difference.

“The new local policing structure means a number of functions that were previously delivered at a local level will now be delivered by centrally based teams. This means that local officers will be dedicated to dealing with local problems and specialist teams can focus all of their efforts on issues such as domestic violence, missing people and integrated offender management.”