Concerns over young people’s anti-social behaviour in West Cumbria have been discussed with the county’s police and crime commissioner.
Peter McCall met with officers to talk about crime trends in the area and what is being done to address them.
He met with Temporary Superintendent Gaynor Wardle, Sergeant Mitchell Franks and PCSO Alison Renney in Workington.
During the meeting, the constabulary raised issues regarding the rise of anti-social behaviour in Workington, mainly linked to young people and children, following the easing of lockdown restrictions.
The force and its partners are working to tackle it, officers told Mr McCall.
Solutions include looking to increase youth provisions in the area and meeting with businesses to understand the problem more and conducting crime prevention surveys to help improve security.
Extra CCTV has been installed in a car park that is a main area for anti-social behaviour and there are increased police patrols, resulting in children being dispersed, cannabis being seized and children being referred to Youth Offending as a result and advice being given about use of electric scooters.
Work in schools has also begun.
Rural crimes tackled by Cumbria Constabulary
Mr McCall and Superintendent Wardle also met with Constable Darren Cook, a rural officer based in Wigton, alongside Constable Leesa Edwards, Constable Lisa Law, PSCO Kerry Harris and PCSO Emma Light to talk about crime affecting the county’s rural areas.
Anti-social behaviour was a local issue in Wigton with young people congregating around derelict buildings to drink, use drugs and occasionally set fires.
The buildings were secured and callouts around anti-social behaviour in the area have reduced.
Anti-social driving was also raised as a recent issue, especially among younger drivers. Local officers have now built a positive relationship with many of the individuals and locals are more receptive to being asked to move along, which has seen a reduction in the issue.
Mr McCall said: “It’s an important part of my role to hold the force to account for the resource we put into policing and find out how effective they are in tackling crime and the issues which concern the public.
“The last year has been challenging for everyone and not least for the constabulary who have not only had to deal with crime but also the pandemic, they have been right at the front end of this, with huge additional demand on all offices and staff and they should be commended for their hard work in such unprecedented times.
“Nevertheless, we need to focus on crime and keeping our communities safe. We need to ensure that crime, including low-level anti-social behaviour, is being dealt with so that I can assure the members of the public that the police are doing everything in their power to reduce crime and keep us safe.
“Getting out to see our officers on the ground is the best way to understand what they are dealing with day to day and I have seen today the commitment and hard work which continues, working with other agencies to deal with a range of issues.
“It’s also an opportunity to hear about issues which may be of concern to police officers and staff in order to try and alleviate these and to thank Officers for doing a great job over the last difficult year on our behalf.
“I will be visiting policing teams in the north and south of the county over the coming weeks.”
Unique challenges for the force
Superintendent Wardle said: “The last year has presented us all with unique challenges.
“Officers and staff have adapted to help limit the spread of the virus as well as keeping people safe, preventing, and solving crime.
“Anti-social behaviour continues to be a priority and in recent weeks we have run a number of operations to tackle the issues raised to us by the public.
“We would encourage the community to continue to report such incidents to us so we can target our resources accordingly.
“This work also includes our child-centred policing team to identify those children in need of support and intervention to improve their lives and divert them away from crime.
“At the end of last year, West Cumbria benefited from officers being introduced back into rural communities, Wigton and Keswick.
“This has been beneficial to both officers and the communities, providing a recognisable presence and tackling issues within the local community.
