South Lakes MP Tim Farron joined local police officers for an 11-and-a-half-hour shift on Friday to get a taste of the day-to-day challenges they face.
Tim learned that on average there will only usually be around six officers on call during a shift to cover the entire constituency – this is in stark contrast to the start of the decade when there’d be six officers covering just Windermere and Ambleside.
As a result, officers are sent to deal with incidents on their own instead of going in pairs and are therefore are put at much greater risk.
During Tim’s shift, he joined officers for an early morning patrol in Windermere, joined the local and county wide police planning meetings, and went out with the wildlife and countryside patrol officer.
Tim has written to Cumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Peter McCall, praising the professionalism of local officers but encouraging him to recruit more front-line staff for Westmorland and Lonsdale.
Tim said: “I really appreciated the opportunity to be out and about with local police officers on Friday.
“Their professionalism and dedication were clear to see, and we owe them a great deal for the job they do in tackling crime and keeping us safe.
“But unfortunately, the sad reality is that many areas across my patch will hardly ever see an officer out on patrol because there are simply far too few of them.
“It’s crucial that we get more officers down here in Westmorland and Lonsdale for the safety of both local people, and for the officers themselves.”
