Suffolk Constabulary is continuing its commitment to putting Suffolk’s communities at the very heart of policing, by signing up to the national Policing Pledge this Christmas.

The Policing Pledge for England and Wales sets out clear standards for all forces and informs the public of the quality of service they should expect from their police. This includes standards for the amount of time spent on the beat, easy ways to contact Safer Neighbourhood Teams and clear response times to all calls and incidents.

Every police force must be compliant and signed up to the pledge by 31st December 2008. Alongside the national pledge, Suffolk Constabulary has published local priorities for each Safer Neighbourhood Team countywide to tackle the issues that matter to local communities.

Chief Constable Simon Ash said: “Suffolk Constabulary is already a high performing force offering a quality service of which we are proud. Our adoption of the national Policing Pledge reinforces our continuing commitment to focus on the needs of all our local communities. We believe the pledge will provide a degree of focus upon the key commitments we are making in terms of delivering an excellent policing service.”

The pledge sets out in 10 points what the public can expect to receive from the police. In recent years, Suffolk Constabulary has adapted its policing to become more in tune with the needs and requirements of communities across the county and has 30 dedicated teams of officers who work closely with partners and residents to identify and resolve local issues.

“As such, when the pledge was unveiled in November this year, we already had 9 out of the 10 points of the pledge in place,“ said Chief Constable Ash. “ In the next couple of weeks, we will meet all the requirements of the pledge and by ensuring we maintain our service to the standards of the pledge, we hope that public confidence in our police service will continue to grow.”

Gulshan Kayembe, Chair of Suffolk Police Authority, said: “We are responsible for ensuring that Suffolk Constabulary is responsive to communities’ needs. The pledge is a great way to assure the public that we will provide them with a policing service that they want and deserve. The Constabulary’s Safer Neighbourhood Teams are having a positive impact on the fight against crime in Suffolk. Their work, coupled with the pledge, will give local people an even stronger voice about how their communities are policed. This can only be a positive step towards an even safer Suffolk.”

A copy of the Policing Pledge can be found on each of the Safer Neighbourhood Team websites, which are accessible at www.safersuffolk.org.uk. Posters explaining the pledge will be displayed at all stations around the county.