On Thursday 6th June between 11am and 7pm, Cumbria Police will be trialling a Mobile Police Desk in the Newbarns and Risedale areas. PCSOs and a crime prevention officer will be attending a number of streets in these areas, at set times, offering crime prevention advice, information and tools to help the public best keep their homes secure.
The desk has been set up in response to a number of in secure property burglaries, vehicle thefts or interferences. There were 21 reported insecure property/vehicle incidents in April to May this year. Patrols have increased in these areas following the burglaries, however, officers have identified that a mobile police desk might further support the local community and therefore this area has been selected for this trial.
PSCO said: “Our job is not only to deal with crime but to help to prevent it as well. Sometimes that means using a different approach to just patrolling an area to keep people safe. We hope that by visiting people’s streets, resident will want to come and have a chat with us, ask advice, or, if it would help, we could arrange a visit to their home and offer some specific tips for keeping their home and property safe.
“We will be visiting lots of streets in the area over the eight hour period, and I would encouraging everyone in any neighbouring roads to pop round to the mobile police desk nearest to them. You can find a list of the mobile police desk locations and times here:
“Previously, we have provided crime prevention advice to residents through a door to door drops and social media posts, but as these crimes are still occurring we are trailing a mobile police desk to see if that works better for residents.”
Sergeant Caroline Milligan said: “This is a really proactive approach to help solve the problem of opportunist burglaries and thefts. Keeping your property secure will deter any opportunist criminals. I hope local resident will take the chance to get involved and learn some valuable tips to best help keep their property safe.
“Officers strategically looked at the data for these areas to identify how we can best support this community. This type of “unseen” police work allows us to identifying any specific needs and accordingly resource a targeted and relevant proactive response to protect local residents. I hope the trial of this mobile police desk will be supported and will really make a difference.”
