A NEW police sergeant for Oxford’s Barton estate hopes to provide medicine to cure the estate’s criminal ills.

Sgt Martyn Williams joined Barton, Risinghurst and Sandhills neighbourhood team at the end of last month and hopes residents will see more bobbies on the beat.

The sergeant, whose shoulder number is 2460, wants the neighbourhood police team to stop crime at its root cause and will work with the community to achieve the goal.

He said: “It’s like the surgeons compared to sticking on a plaster.

“For us it is trying to find the cause of it and trying to address that cause.”

He hopes residents will talk to local officers and let them know what is happening.

He added: “We want people to come and involve themselves with us and we want to involve ourselves with the public.”

The officer said his team — made up of himself, one Pc and four Pcsos — would work to deter people from a criminal lifestyle.

He said “We are here to help but we won’t tolerate criminal activity.

“We want to stop all criminal and anti-social behaviour. If we can help people turn their lives around that’s our goal.

“If people do engage in criminal activity we will be there to stop them.”

Sgt Williams was a response team sergeant at Abingdon police station for nearly 18 months before the switch to Barton in Underhill Circus neighbourhood centre.

The officer, who grew up in Surrey, has been a police officer for more than 12 years, including five years with the firearms unit.

But he said Barton had a great community spirit.

He added: “It is one of those areas where everyone knows each other.

“It had a bad reputation in the past but my understanding is that is historic now.”

We are local residents what they think.

Stowford Road resident Paul Marlow, 56, said antisocial behaviour was a problem in Underhill Circus and Fettiplace Road.

He also said dog fouling was getting worse.

He said: “I would like to see Pcsos back on the street. I don’t really see them now.”

Wheelchair user Martin Scarrott, of Northway Road, said he had problems with illegal parking and speeding.

The 49-year-old said: “We need a speed check every now and again.”

Barton neighbourhood office will be open to the public from 11am to 1pm on Monday for a Have Your Say meeting with Pcso Thomas Ciotti.