FORMER military mess manager Nicole Garcia has joined the beat as the new police community support officer for Gunnislake and Calstock. Acting as a liaison between the police and the community, Ms Garcia will be providing a high visibility uniformed presence and offering reassurance to residents and people visiting the area. Her role will extend to traffic related powers including issuing fixed penalty notices later in the year. The new officer spent 20 years in the catering industry before moving back to her home town of Plymouth three and a half years ago. After nine weeks of training, Ms Garcia is looking forward to visiting local schools and groups and meeting parish councillors and residents in order to build a rapport with the community. Communication skills she developed as a mess manager will inevitably stand her in good stead. Ms Garcia said: 'I wanted to be a PCSO because I like people and I believe in what the police want to do and that is get officers back on the streets. 'I also believe everybody wants someone to listen to them and help and really care about what they are talking about.' Ms Garcia said the residents of Gunnislake and Calstock had not had any sort of consistency over the past four years in terms of uniformed presence and they had made her feel 'really welcome'. 'They will be seeing me regularly two or three times a week — it could be even five times a week and I will be involved loosely in anything that is community-based,' added the officer, who has two daughters, aged 23 and 17. Ms Garcia will be the second PCSO to join Callington police — Mark Stribley has been in post since August 2004 and has been a great asset in helping to reduce crime and build relationships with the community in Callington. Callington Sergeant Brett Phillips said: 'I am delighted to finally have a PCSO appointed for Gunnislake and Calstock and I am sure the residents will be pleased to see a regularl police presence in their community.' Nicole will also be covering Callington on occasions but her primary neighbourhood will be Gunnislake and Calstock and the outlying villages.
