Ipswich, Hadleigh and Bury are among the areas to receive a new policing presence in the form of four, new community engagement officers (CEO).

East Anglian Daily Times: PC Hannah Creasey will be working in Ipswich Picture SUFFOLK CONSTABULARYPC Hannah Creasey will be working in Ipswich Picture SUFFOLK CONSTABULARY (Image: Archant)

What are community engagement officers?

CEOs work with the Safer Neighbourhood Teams to help keep residents informed about what work is being done by the police in their area.

They host surgeries, community meetings and also make use of social media and other technologies to engage with local people.

Each CEO has a dedicated Facebook account for their area where they provide information, highlight events, campaigns and initiatives.

East Anglian Daily Times: PC Andre De Jongh will be working in the Bury St Edmunds area Picture: SUFFOLK CONSTABULARYPC Andre De Jongh will be working in the Bury St Edmunds area Picture: SUFFOLK CONSTABULARY (Image: Archant)

Where will they be working?

-PC Hannah Creasey will join existing CEO PC Rachel Partridge in the Ipswich East area.

-PC Diane Porter and PC Sarah George will be based in Hadleigh and the surrounding villages.

-PC Michael Small will continue work in Ipswich West.

-PC Andre DeJongh will replace PC Paul Fox as the CEO for Bury St Edmunds. Mr Fox is retiring after 30 years of serving communities in Suffolk.

Assistant Chief Constable Dave Cutler said: "We know that listening to our communities and providing information on what we are doing and what is happening in local areas is vital to effective policing and that is why we introduced the CEOs.

"They are an integral part of Safer Neighbourhood Teams and their role is always developing. All of our CEOs are absolutely committed to their role and we have seen fantastic work those in role already have achieved. I know that the Hannah, Diane, Sarah and Andre will work as passionately as their colleagues."

"Our digital platforms are a key method of informing and engaging with the people of Suffolk. Our digital presence continues to grow with an average of 64,000 people viewing our force website each week - a 40% increase on 2018.

"We now have 70,000 followers on our Constabulary Twitter account and nearly 72,000 on our Facebook account. We know the importance of using social media to ensure our engagement is as extensive as possible but other more traditional methods of visibility and contact are as important as ever to us and our communities."

Sergeant Steve Wright who oversees the work of the CEOs said: "I am really looking forward to the new CEOs joining us and contributing to the work.

"The Constabulary will have 12 officers in post and this means we can further support the Neighbourhood Teams and wider policing response across Suffolk in keeping all of our communities safe and ensuring we identify and arrest those offenders committing crime across the county.

Police and Crime Commissioner Tim Passmore said: Police and Crime Commissioner Tim Passmore said: "I have seen at first hand the great work being carried out by officers in this new role. The Community Engagement Officers have joined me on my public engagement programme this year and they have all shown huge commitment and enthusiasm for the communities they represent.

"Talking to people across the county many comment that improved communication is important. I am sure this new role will address many of these public concerns and I wish the new officers well with their new responsibilities."