A new approach to supporting members of the community in Coventry has been launched by police in the city.

A Community Safety Bureau has been set up at each of the three major police stations in Coventry in a bid to tackle crime and its causes.

Each will have officers specialising in local intelligence, domestic violence, crime reduction, Neighbourhood Watch support and schools liaison.

Other specialists will also be called in when they are needed and the units will be headed by an inspector.

The trio in charge are Insp Steve Graham at Little Park Street, Insp Ellie Bird at Chace Avenue, and Insp Dara Lloyd at Stoney Stanton Road.

Insp Lloyd said:

“Our main aim is to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour and to investigate any crime-related matter that concerns the community.

“Whenever we speak to members of the public, the problems that cause most concern are usually nuisance and vandalism and intimidation of the elderly, either real or imagined, by groups of youngsters hanging around on street corners.

”In response we are gathering groups of officers together who are specialist in certain fields in a bid to support both the officers out on the beats and the victims of crime themselves.

“If an officer is called to a crime he or she will take a statement and investigate the incident.

“If this is a repeat crime, a racist crime, or an attack on a vulnerable member of the community, the officers from the bureau will analyse what has happened and will attempt to try and prevent similar crimes happening again to the same person or in the same area.”

Insp Ellie Bird said the officers would be working with other agencies in the city and developing the network of contacts already forged by the police.

She said: