St Albans district’s police force has been bolstered by a new neighbourhood sergeant and police community support officer.
Sgt Paul Caro, who went to school at Beaumont and Verulam, is heading up the St Albans Central, North and West Safer Neighbourhood Team and PCSO Joshua Walton has started covering Wheathampstead.
Sgt Caro said: “Although I enjoyed managing an intervention team and never knowing what we would be dealing with in ten minutes time, I’m very pleased to have a role where I can plan my time.
“It means I can really get involved in problem-solving with the council and our other partner agencies and trying to make a positive difference to the wider community.”
The 34-year-old father of two previously worked with an intervention team in Hemel Hempstead, responding to 999 calls.
He joined the force in 2007 and was promoted in 2013, having received the highest score in the law and procedure exam in the county.
“I’m lucky in that I know the area really well, having grown up here”, Sgt Caro continued.
“I care about this city and while St Albans is a desirable place to live and a relatively low crime area, vehicle crime continues to be a problem.
“I’m looking forward to working with partner agencies and promoting Neighbourhood Watch and OWL as a way for residents to be informed about crime in their local area.”
He reminded drivers to lock their cars, remove any valuables from within and asked the public to call 101 if they saw someone acting suspiciously.
He said a career highlight was arresting rogue traders in Brookmans Park who were trying to steal tens of thousands of pounds in life savings from a 90-year-old man.
In addition to Sgt Caro, Joshua Walton has also joined the district’s police garrison as the new Wheathampstead PCSO, replacing Chloe Dagless.
He said: “As a PCSO, you can help support victims and get them back up to where they were before it happened. It’s all about helping people when they need it most.”
Members of the public can join the Neighbourhood Watch via www.owl.co.uk and follow @StAlbansPolice and the district’s chief inspector via @StAlbansChief on Twitter.
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