Sheffield police station to be staffed again after 1,500 sign petition

A sergeant and two constables will be based out of Deepcar police station, as part of a new neighbourhood policing shake-up.

The station on Manchester Road was still used by police community support officers following the closure of its front desk, but no warranted officers had been based there.

A petition was launched to get it re-staffed following an armed robbery and a break-in at a petrol station just yards away last spring, which residents claimed were indicative of a general rise in crime.

More than 1,500 people signed the petition, with Penistone and Stocksbridge MP Angela Smith lending it her backing.

Police confirmed on Friday that the station would be used as a base for the new Sheffield Central & North West neighbourhood team, along with Snig Hill police station in the city centre.

And they said staffing within north west Sheffield would be boosted by the addition of a sergeant and two police constables based at Deepcar.

The new Sheffield Central & North West team, which replaces the old Sheffield Central one, will have officers covering Crookes, Hillsborough, Fulwood, Stocksbridge and Walkley, as well as the city centre.

The Sheffield West neighbourhood has become Sheffield South West and now covers Gleadless, Lowedges, Batemoor, Jordanthrope, Sharrow, Bents Green, Dore, Totley, Millhouses, Greenhill, Baslow, Heeley, Meersbrook, Norton and Abbeydale. That team will be based at Woodseats police station.

Superintendent Paul McCurry said: 'For our local communities and businesses in the west of Sheffield, you shouldn't see any change to the level of service offered '“ if anything, changing the responsibilities and the coverage of our local teams means that we will be able to more effectively respond to the issues that concern you most.

'We have increased our staffing within the north west with the addition of a sergeant and two police constables who will be based at Deepcar.

'You'll see the change across our social media pages, where the teams will post information and updates about incident that affect you. Remember you can also sign up to SYP Alerts, which is a free messaging service that enables your local officers to communicate directly with you.'

Clare Wilson, who launched the petition to get Deepcar police station re-staffed by police officers, welcomed the news.

'It's fantastic news, and I think it will make a huge difference,' she said.

'Just having officers physically there and knowing sometimes it will be manned will give people the extra peace of mind we've been lacking and hopefully help reduce crime rates here.'

Although police officers will once again be based out of Deepcar police station, it is not believed there are any plans to reopen the public enquiry desk there.