[C]umbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner Peter McCall met members from the Aspatria Local Partnership yesterday in the town, to listen to their concerns about anti-social behaviour and other policing matters that effect their communities, and what might be done to address them.
Aspatria Rural Partnership is a group of Parish Councils that work together to promote their area for residents and visitors. They were keen to meet Peter McCall to discuss policing in their areas, and hear his views.
Peter McCall said: “I was really keen to show that I take these concerns very seriously, and reassure the public that I do listen to them. I was pleased to be able to go along and meet Councillors Bill Finlay, Jim Lister, Duncan Fairburn and other members of the Aspatria Rural Partnership, and hear what they had to say about policing in their local areas.
“The meeting was also a perfect opportunity for me to introduce the new Allerdale District Police Inspector, Rachel Gale, who has taken up this new role as part of the revised neighbourhood policing structure brought in by the Constabulary this week to ensure we are focusing on and dealing with local issues. Rachel will be Allerdale’s dedicated neighbourhood Inspector. The Chief Constable and I are determined to enable the police to focus more on neighbourhood issues and problems.
“I am very aware how important neighbourhood policing is to the public and for this reason I have funded four of the new neighbourhood inspector posts, these are additional police posts to increase our number. This is a significant change to our neighbourhood policing teams. I know from the people that I meet and talk to, that many see neighbourhood policing a key factor in keeping their communities safe.
“I will also be in Aspatria again, on Thursday 21 September, when I am holding a Public Surgery at the Local Links, Brandraw, Aspatria, between 2pm-4pm. Please do take the opportunity to call in and see me if you can, and share any concerns you may have. No appointment is necessary.”
Temporary Inspector Rachel Gale said: “Neighbourhood policing is crucial in providing an effective policing service to the communities we serve.
“As the new inspector for the Allerdale District area it was a really good opportunity to meet those from the Aspatria Rural Partnership who, like us, are committed to improving the quality of life for those in the local area.
“By working together we can tackle local issues holistically and provide a service that our communities deserve.”
Councillor Bill Finlay, who chairs the Partnership said: “Partnership members were pleased that both Peter and Rachel were able to attend. We had a frank exchange of views leading to an agreement in principle to develop practical ways we can work together while recognising constraints on both sides.
“Our first agreed initiative is that Police officers will commit to attend bi-monthly Partnership meetings at which local representatives can feed community concerns to the new Allerdale police team, who in turn will be able to feed their views and advice back to communities via parish and town councillors.”
