Charlotte has been a police officer with GMP for 16yrs and now works as a Neighbourhood Policing Unit Inspector in Bury East, which houses the new and expanded Town Centre and a very diverse residential community.
In 2010, Charlotte attended her first ROC Conversations at the Velodrome in Manchester - along with colleagues from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue in Bury. Having heard amazing stories of how ROC enabled key agencies to work together with local churches and reduce crime & anti social behaviour, Charlotte had a lightbulb moment for a ROC Café on the main street through Bury Town Centre called 'The Rock'. The Fire Station Commander Lee Coleman ran with the idea and said that the cafe could be installed in the Fire Station and "ROC on The Rock" was born!
Community Pastors Ste & Hazel Wilkinson are the lead church for the Bury ROC Café with great support from other local churches, who send youth workers along, to provide quality mentoring and support for the young people who attend.
ASB across Bury East is on the decline and ROC Café on The Rock is definitely a contributory factor in this success!
This was only the beginning of Charlotte's journey with ROC as she has since become a ROC Ambassador and attended the Ambassadors Conference in Milton Keynes, where she spoke to delegates about her ROC experience which has enabled this good work to spread across the country.
GMP's ROC SPOC (Single Point Of Contact), Inspector Wilkinson, was due to retire to take up a chaplaincy in the North East and Charlotte was asked to take on this role due to her enthusiasm and vision for ROC.
Later this month, Charlotte will be accompanying Debra to meet the Strathclyde Force Leadership Team to help spread the ROC message to her Scottish colleagues.
Overall, ROC has enabled the Police in Bury to forge strong links with churches, improve partnership working with key agencies like the Fire Service, obtain commitment from local businesses like Vue Cinema, AMF Bowling, Wickes & ASDA and driven down crime & anti-social behaviour to improve residents quality of life.
And it all started with ROC on The Rock!
For more information on how YOU can become a ROC Ambassador, click here.
