Police hope more 'boots on the ground' keeps Peterborough streets safe
Officers are continuing their Winter of Action campaign
Police in Peterborough hope more officers in the city can begin to make people feel safer while out and about.
The force was in the city centre at the weekend cracking down on crime and promoting night time safety as part of their Winter of Action, which runs until the end of January.
This latest campaign follows the Safer Streets Summer initiative in the county which saw an increase in patrols and numerous arrests.
"We're hoping the winter will follow suit and we are able to have dedicated resources to tackle the problem," Sergeant Chris Arnold, part of the Peterborough city centre neighbourhood police team, said.
"We're confident that by putting boots on the ground and having an emphasis on the winter action plan, we can hopefully make a real difference in the local community."
As we followed Cambridgeshire Police on shift in Peterborough, several officers patrolled the city centre streets - including Bridge Street, Long Causeway and Broadway - with a strong focus on night time safety.
This includes tackling alcohol-related disorder, spiking and violence against women and girls (VAWG).
While officers spoke to businesses like clubs and pubs throughout the night, as well as security officers like Eduardo.
"When the young people come, they want to try and drink so we have to keep an eye on them," he said.
Asked what could be done to improve the night time economy in Peterborough, Eduardo told us he wants to see "more clubs, (which could) bring more opportunity for security staff through more jobs.
"A lot of places have been closing."
Local groups like Peterborough Positive - the city's business improvement district - have shown their support for the Government-led Winter of Action.
In the summer, an extra 10 community officers for Peterborough - two extra sergeants and eight additional police constables - were brought in as part of the Government's neighbourhood policing guarantee.
As part of the pledge, Cambridgeshire would be allocated 30 new officers with the force getting more than £2 million to help improve neighbourhood policing.
At an event at Cambridgeshire Police's headquarters earlier this year, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he aimed to see "3,000 new neighbourhood officers by the start of next year" nationally.
Sgt Arnold said there is pressure to keep everyone safe, but welcomes the neighbourhood police uplift.
"It takes a lot of resources to patrol the city centre where we've got a lot of wider demand around the city, so (it's about having) boots on the ground to be able to reduce anti-social behaviour and prevent incidents taking place, rather than just being reactive to them," he added.
"We take a zero tolerance to any incidents and will make sure we're thinking 'arrest first', dealing with them robustly and immediately to try and get the best possible outcome for victims."