We are encouraging our Mansfield community to say hello to our frontline officers they see in their local coffee shops and speak to them about any concerns they have as part of a new pilot project.

We are trialling a new initiative in Mansfield which will see neighbourhood and response officers working in town centre coffee chains as part of their agile daily work in their communities.

A key aim of the pilot is to enable members of the public who see an officer in their coffee shop to go and say hello and chat to them, in a relaxed informal setting, if they have any concerns or questions about a local policing matter, such as a reported incident, or if they need any advice.

The trial scheme is due to run for around five weeks and is being supported by the Costa Coffee shops in West Gate, Southwell Road, and St Peter's Retail Park, the Starbucks in the Four Seasons Shopping Centre, and the Dunkin' in Southwell Road.

Sergeant Josh Lee-Taylor works in our Prevention Hub which is driving the initiative forward. He said: “We are constantly striving to improve our communication and engagement with the public, to help us address issues, enhance public safety, and build trust with the diverse communities we serve.

"We want our officers to be visible and accessible to the public while they're out and about in their communities.

"Agile working is already well embedded within our organisation, allowing officers on duty to be flexible by working in different locations to complete their tasks.

"It will enable us to reach those who aren’t often in contact with the police but want to speak to us and share ideas in a friendly, relaxed environment.

“If this pilot proves to be a success, then there may be potential for us to consider rolling it out forcewide.”

Inspector Kylie Davies, district commander for Mansfield, said: “This initiative gives members of the public another route to make contact with us on a drop-in basis and chat with an officer about any concerns they may have or about policing matters that are important to them over a brew.

“It’s a way of reaching out to those people who don’t necessarily want to come to some of our more formal public events.

PC James Lloyd, beat manager for Lindhurst and Berry Hill, added: "We want people to know they can approach police officers if they see them out and about and working in this sort of environment.

"This pilot scheme provides an extra option for people to discuss any concerns they have with us so we can give advice and act on information given."