In the past few weeks Greater Manchester Police have made changes to the neighbourhood policing teams in Bolton.
The two police officers who will now deal with neighbourhood policing in the Bolton Central Unit which covers Halliwell, Great Lever, the Town Centre and Rumworth areas are Inspector Andy Sidebotham and Detective Inspector Gary Smith.
Inspector Sidebotham took over policing the town centre unit in January. Aged 32 with 12 years’ experience in Greater Manchester Police, he is the youngest inspector in the force. He was previously a Sergeant in Gorton and dealt with issues surrounding the universities in Manchester.
Also, this month has seen the south, east, west and central policing units of Bolton split and divided into three, north, south and central areas instead.
GMP also have a new community reporter, Harriet Blake, who spent a day with Police Community Support Officers on patrol in Chorlton. She went to a police briefing, met senior police officers and met with local people. You can apply to be a community reporter yourself for GMP, to find out what life in the police is really like, by visiting their website.
Bolton Central Greater Manchester Police have a new telephone number to deal with non-emergency calls. The 101 number is for non-emergency calls and to report a crime. You can also ring 0161 856 5619 to speak to operational support officers based in the Central INPT office. To report a crime anonymously contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Members of the public are still encouraged to use 999 in emergencies where there is a threat to life or a crime is in progress.
