Armed police will be deployed in Warrington town centre as part of a new tactic to disrupt crime and terrorism.
Project Servator will see a range of specialist officers on the streets of the town centre including plain clothes police.
Firearms officers will be on the streets too, although not on a continual or 24 hour basis.
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Police on mainland Britain do not carry firearms on a routine basis relying instead on specialist firearms teams.
Project Servator was pioneered by City of London Police in 2014 and has since been used in other big cities such as Liverpool and Manchester.
The tactic began on Monday ( October 10) in Warrington although the ECHO understands that armed police have not yet been deployed in the town centre.
The Project Servator team will include specially trained officers who are able to spot the tell-tale signs of individuals who may be planning or preparing to commit a crime. Dog handling units and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) will also be used.
Ian Cox, director of the town's Golden Square Shopping Centre, welcomed the initiative.
Mr Cox said: "We're fully supportive of this initiative and encourage all our staff, retailers and shoppers to assist in any way that they can to help keep our local community safe. If we've learnt anything from the last two years it's that looking out for one another has never been more important."
Project Servator was first trialled in Chester City Centre in June 2019 and the scheme is now being trialled in Warrington.
Chief Inspector Neil Drum from Cheshire Police said :“I am really pleased to be trialling Project Servator in Warrington. This is a fantastic opportunity for us to talk to residents, visitors to the town centre and staff about the importance of being vigilant at all times, and to work with them to keep everyone safe and add another layer of security to our existing policing methods. This isn’t in response to a particular threat, but something we’re trying out to see if it can further enhance our existing security measures.”
Warrington Local Policing Unit Inspector, Ruth Atherton, said: “The security of everyone who works and visits the town centre is important to us, which is why we’re working closely with the Golden Square Shopping Centre, local shops, businesses and Warrington Borough Council to make Project Servator a success.
“Our town centre is an incredibly safe place and this will further strengthen the visible and less visible measures already in place to keep everyone safe and secure.”
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