EW measures unveiled by Northwich police to fight crime in the community have met with a mixed response.

Police chiefs announced a new approach last week, which will involve using the latest intelligence to target crime hotspots.

Barnton parish councillor Mark Constable says his colleagues will be keen to work closely with the police.

"We lost our beat bobby, and we were not happy about that," he said. "But we want to make something positive in the spirit they are suggesting."

But one of the sternest critics of the withdrawal of beat bobbies, Hartford borough Clr Keith Musgrave, still isn't convinced.

He said: "They're still talking about reacting to the problems, rather than stopping them in the first place. They talk about finding hotspots, but that is still geared to responding to what has already happened."

Supt Ian Johns, head of Northwich police, has strongly rebuffed Clr Musgrave's claims. He said: "My decision to put out more officers at peak problem times is surely evidence that we are committed to stopping crime in the first place."

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