Addingham residents will be asked their views on crime and policing issues at a drop-in event complete with police information stands and children's activities.

As part of its new approach to the policing of the area, Keighley Division Police is holding the Neighbourhood Policing Team Drop-In Event at Hothfield Junior School, Hothfield Street, Silsden, on Tuesday November 9, from 3.30pm to 5.30pm.

Keighley Police has divided its policing area into a number of wards, and Addingham, along with Silsden and Steeton, is within the Craven Ward. The police are consulting with residents of all wards about their concerns and the type of policing issues they feel are important to them in the area, and are currently carrying out consultation in the Craven Ward.

Visitors to the drop-in session will be given an opportunity to complete one of the official questionnaires which the division is using for consultation with the community at large, as well as learn more about local policing and related issues.

Children's activities such as face-painting are being organised to attract parents with their children. Residents attending the drop-in event will be able to learn more about the work of Keighley Police,. There will be a display of police vehicles and information stands about police partnerships, crime prevention and initiatives such as the Community Speedwatch campaign. Speedwatch trained members of the public to use police speed guns in a campaign to reduce the speeds of motorists on local roads. Ilkley people have been pushing to get the scheme brought into the Ilkley area. Keighley Town Council has already funded a camera for use by volunteers in the Keighley Area.

Sgt Esther Hobbs said part of the new policing initiative was to engage with the public, and she hoped parents as well as Addingham people of all age groups would be encouraged to come to the event. The Silsden drop-in session is aimed mainly at people from the Craven policing ward, including Addingham villagers.

The Ward Tasking Group for the Ilkley area was recently unveiled with a meeting at the town's Clarke Foley Centre. The aim is to identify community safety problems and issues which most affect the quality of life for residents in the Ilkley and Wharfedale ward, and to prioritise these in order of importance to the community as a whole.

These issues will then be dealt with by the police, other agencies and the community working together.