This is Suffolk police’s Kestrel team - a brand new group of seven officers recruited especially to fight the most prolific crimes which risk blighting the lives of the county’s residents.
The six PCs, led by Sgt Kelvin Wenden, have been recruited from a 4.69% rise in police and crime commissioner Tim Passmore’s element of council tax.
They are there to bolster the force’s response to high-volume crimes, like drug-dealing, violent crime, burglary, robbery, vehicle crime and anti-social behaviour.
The uniformed Neighbourhood Crime Proactive team is designed to be highly visible to the public.
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Although based in Eye, the officers can be deployed wherever they are most needed in the county - in order to “deal with the policing issues and concerns which matter most to local communities”.
Assistant Chief Constable Rob Jones said: “Having this additional team available will bolster our capability to rapidly support our local policing teams in addressing criminality.
“It will strengthen the force’s proactive capability to respond to community concerns and help us robustly tackle emerging crime trends in an area and, ultimately, bring the perpetrators to justice.
County Policing Commander Chief Superintendent Marina Ericson said: “This dedicated Kestrel team will have the ability to dynamically deploy into a particular area for a period of time to target crime and work alongside the relevant local policing team.
“The team will work alongside other teams and partner agencies, putting a problem-solving approach at the heart of its activities and embracing creative and innovative methods.
“It will form a key part of the overall policing response to dealing with both existing and emerging criminal threats and challenges in local communities.”
Mr Passmore said: “I am very proud to see the Kestrel team in place and ready for action.
“The funding of these officers has come directly from the precept increase in this year’s budget.
“It is one of several additional resources made possible by the precept increase and I hope people will see that their extra £10 a year - for a Band D property - really is making a difference.
“This team will be able to swoop into areas where additional resource is required to deal with issues affecting communities, working alongside local policing teams.
“I wish them all well and look forward to hearing the results.”
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