A CRIME and safety group set up for residents in three communities as a forum to interact with local officers by South Yorkshire Police has been scrapped - because the force has attended so few meetings recently.
The Birdwell, Tankersley and Pilley Crime and Safety Group was one of a network of similar organisations set up years ago with the aim of keeping interested residents up to date with crime and related safety issues in their communities, as well as providing a forum for them to pass on information and question officers about their work.
The group first encountered problems several years ago due to a change in the way the money it paid to rent a room was organised, meaning it was no longer practical to get hold of the money.
Since then, it has relied on Birdwell Methodist Church where the group met, to allow it to use a room without charge for the monthly meetings.
However, more recently officers and PCSOs have frequently failed to attend meetings, with a councillor contacting police over the issue some time ago.
Read more in this weeks Barnsley Chronicle
