Home Office Minister and Portsmouth girl Meg Hillier MP recently joined Sarah and Nelson ward councillor Sarah Cook on a tour of Buckland in Portsmouth to see how police, residents and Labour's elected representatives are working together to make Portsmouth safer.

They accompanied Police Sergeant Ben McClane and his team on a police visit to Flying Bull Primary School where they witnessed first-hand the relationship-building and early intervention work the police do with children there and spoke with the head of Flying Bull Primary School about how the school was encouraging the involvement of parents too. Sgt Ben McClane said "I encourage my team to go to the schools as much as possible to build a relationship with the kids from an early age".

Meg Hillier MP, Sarah and Cllr Sarah Cook walked round Buckland with the police team and spoke with a block rep who said she was "delighted" with the work of the neighbourhood police team keeping Buckland safer.

The minister also addressed a group of council decision makers and frontline workers at the Guildhall and praised them for their co-ordinated approach. "I have been impressed by the way police & community safety officers, Sarah McCarthy-Fry MP, schools, council officers and local residents are working together to keep Portsmouth safe and build a community spirit that everyone can be proud of. I will be feeding back my experiences and the comments of the community direct to the Home Secretary."