“Keeping safe community drop-in” events will be held at Acomb Explore on a weekly basis to help more members of the public access crime prevention advice and information.

In a new pilot scheme that will run for three months, local people will be able to access crime prevention and personal safety advice, details of how to sign up to the North Yorkshire Community Messaging system to receive alerts about crime and incidents in their area, or simply have a chat.

The scheme will be evaluated after the pilot, and if the results are positive, it could become a permanent service and may be introduced in other parts of York and North Yorkshire.

North Yorkshire Police’s Citizens in Policing Coordinator Manager, Natasha Almond, said: “Acomb police station office is open to the public on a part-time basis thanks to our Police Support Volunteers, however, the service is underused and people rarely call in.

“So if people aren’t coming to us, we want to take our services to them. We have great support from our volunteers who are willing to provide this service in their own time. My thanks go to them for giving up their time and to Acomb Explore for their enthusiasm and help with this service.”

Fiona Williams, Chief Executive of York Explore, added: “Libraries are safe spaces in communities where everyone is welcome and we are looking forward to working more closely with north Yorkshire police to build a more resilient community”

The “Keeping safe community drop-in” will be running every Friday between 24 February to 19 May 2017 from 11.45am to 1.45pm. Call in and say hello.