Police put meeting with public online

Staff from Barnsley's Darton and Dodworth and Old Town Safer Neighbourhood Teams hold joint meetings with the public every month to set crimefighting priorities for their areas.

Senior officers are now hoping that by opening up the meetings to people "in the comfort of their own homes" will mean that they get more suggestions and feedback into the process.

According to South Yorkshire Police, those taking part via webcam will be able engage in conversation with people at the meeting and ask questions and receive answers in real time.

Inspector Mark Spooner, who leads the two Safer Neighbourhood Teams said: "All public views, opinions and concerns are important to us and can affect the way in which we police.

"We understand that attending a meeting on a certain date is not always convenient, so we are hoping that people who can't attend will take advantage of this new online facility."

He added: "The population is becoming engrossed in communicating online, and it was only a matter of time until we followed the trend and incorporated it into our engagement process."

A link to the Police and Communities Together meeting, which will take place between 6.30 and 8pm at Higham Methodist Church will be posted onto the Darton and Dodworth/Old Town SNT website.

Officers said the easiest way for residents to access the site was to go to www.southyorkshire.police. uk and type in their postcode.

They will then be directed to the relevant SNT website where a link to the meeting will be clearly visible.