We were both elected last year on a promise to drive up police numbers, bring back visible neighbourhood policing and drive down crime and anti-social behaviour in West Cumbria. One year in, we’re making good progress.
New police officers, PCSOs and special constables are now in training, thanks to £1.7 million funding we secured from the Government to deliver the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee. When in post this autumn, these extra officers will nearly double the size of West Cumbria’s neighbourhood policing team, meaning more bobbies on the beat in our towns and villages.
We’re not just waiting for those new officers to start. We’re using existing resources better to address the key priorities raised by residents and businesses.
An extra £1 million secured from the government is funding increased patrols in the centre of Cleator Moor, Whitehaven and Workington – top anti-social behaviour hotspots in West Cumbria. This high visibility police presence has had a significant impact, with reported anti-social behaviour down by over 40% on average compared to last year. Responsiveness to residents’ concerns has also improved with recent complaints about anti-social behaviour in Egremont seeing more police activity there too. We’ll continue working with councillors and the community to address these issues.
This summer, the police are carrying out a Safer Streets blitz in town centres across the county to tackle anti-social behaviour, illegal use of e-bikes and shoplifting, in partnership with the council and businesses.
A major road safety campaign was launched earlier this month, which will run through to November and target roads where we’ve had the highest number of reports of speeding and dangerous driving to take action against those treating our highways like a race track. Please report any hotspots and we’ll feed these into the plan.
The Commissioner’s office has provided additional funding to Cumbria’s Rural Crime Team for it to continue, working with farmers and rural communities to tackle issues like machinery theft. This work has halved theft of quad bikes in the last year alone! Investment in drones and new powers granted by the government mean that the police can crack down on illegal off road bikes, catching those using them and seizing and crushing the vehicles to put them out of use.
Drug use and drug dealing are significant challenges in our community and the Commissioner’s office has used money seized from criminal activity to fund a series of high profile drug raids to arrest major dealers and take them off our streets. Additionally, some of that money is being re-invested into community groups and charities that help our young people. We know a lot more needs to be done on this but community intelligence is vital and we urge residents to report any concerns that could assist the police.
And we’re acting on concerns about illegal working, with recent raids carried out by the Regional Organised Crime Unit on commercial premises across West Cumbria suspected of employing illegal workers. This is a key element of addressing the pull factors bringing people across the Channel in small boats and we’ll continue to take action against individuals and businesses flouting our immigration laws.
There is lots more to do, but we’re committed to making our streets safer at the end of this Parliament than they were at the beginning.
Josh MacAlister MP and David Allen, Cumbria’s Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner
Josh MacAlister MP 