Ashby is set to benefit from quicker police response time and greater visibility under a new approach which will see more officers based in Leicestershire neighbourhoods.

From Wednesday (March 11) Leicestershire Police will be introducing its new Target Operating Model (TOM) across the force area.

North West Leicestershire Police will be one of nine geographical areas with its main base at Coalville.

The police say the community in the area will benefit from improved service, more resilience and capability in local areas, officers will have stronger local knowledge and intelligence and improved response times. 

This new model means officers will be working 24/7 from Coalville station resulting in faster response time and greater ownership of local issues.

Each area will be led by a commander and have the capability for patrol, incident response, investigation, problem-solving and community engagement.

The area commander for North West Leicestershire NPA remains as Inspector Richard Jackson.

Each NPA will also have its own area CID team, headed up by a Detective Inspector, meaning a dedicated resource in neighbourhoods for investigating more serious offences locally.

Detective Inspector Dan Granger will oversee CID in the area.

One of the main changes is the introduction of a new role of Neighbourhood Patrol Officer (NPOs).

These officers will respond to incidents, carry out pro-active patrol and investigate volume crime such as burglary, vehicle crime and criminal damage.

They will be overseen by additional locally-based sergeants. They will work alongside existing Dedicated Neighbourhood Officers and teams who work to address local issues and priorities with partners.

All newly-trained police officers joining the force will become an NPO and be allocated to a neighbourhood policing area.

The force will be recruiting additional police officers this year – paid for from local council tax payers and the Government's Uplift programme.

Inspector Jackson said: "I am really looking forward to this positive change for policing in North West Leicestershire which will enable more visibility in our neighbourhoods and better response times.

"The officer who comes to your front door will be the one that sees it right through to initial investigation to resolution.

"This means better ownerships of issues and the ability build that trust and confidence with the public.

"Although we will have the same demand, we will be responding in a different way resulting in a better service for the public.

"It is an exciting time for policing in North West Leicestershire as not only do we have response officers based here we also work in the same building as the fire and East Midlands Ambulance Service and continue the excellent collaborative work."