Police officers in Cumbria have highlighted the work they carry out all year round to tackle anti-social behaviour in the county.
Last week was a dedicated week of action for police forces across the country to raise awareness of anti-social behaviour and its consequences.
Cumbrian officers, alongside representatives from partner agencies, targeted local issues and engaged with residents.
The force said anti-social behaviour was a priority and as such Operation Enhance, which sees extra patrols in areas identified as hotspots for ASB, continues.
The operation sees extra patrols in 18 areas identified by statistical analysis as the county’s hotspot areas of anti-social behaviour and serious violence.
he operation will see extra patrols in 18 areas identified by statistical analysis as the county’s hotspot areas of anti-social behaviour and serious violence.
These areas include areas of Carlisle, Barrow, Workington, Whitehaven, Kendal, Penrith, Maryport, Cleator Moor, Ulverston and Bowness-on-Windermere.
They are:
Furness
- Barrow – Hindpool
- Barrow – Salthouse
- Barrow – town centre
- Barrow – Barrow Island
Allerdale & Copeland
- Workington town centre
- Maryport town centre
- Maryport South
- Whitehaven town centre
- Cleator Moor
Carlisle & Wigton
- Botchergate
- Carlisle city centre
- Grey Street/Fusehill Street
- Dowbeck
- Raffles Avenue/Shadygrove Road, Carlisle
Kendal & Eden
- Penrith town and New Squares
- Kendal town centre
- Ulverston town centre
- Bowness-on-Windermere
Cumbria Constabulary carried out the following during the week of action:
Carlisle & Wigton
In Carlisle, high visibility patrols were carried out in regular patrol routes to show a visible presence, make communities feel safer and reduce incidents of anti-social behaviour. PCSOs also engaged with the local schools together with Riverside officers, to deliver anti-social behaviour awareness talks to young people across area.
Alongside the work carried out during the week of action, the Neighbourhood Policing Team continuously work with partner agencies to tackle and reduce anti-social behaviour in areas where it is prevalent such as Raffles and Morton, in Carlisle, and Solway, Dalston, Caldbeck and Wigton.
This includes working with partners in housing and local councils, adopting early interventions and educational programmes, by increasing youth engagement in schools and clubs and increasing our high visibility patrols.
Allerdale
During the week of action, Allerdale Neighbourhood Policing Team supported partner agencies through the local focus hub, in reaching out to residents in Workington and Maryport to provide advice and support regarding ASB and other issues residents were experiencing.
The team met with licensees in Maryport to discuss implementation of a new Pubwatch initiative.
Local PCSOs were also out on high visibility patrols at night in hotspot areas with the aim to reduce anti-social behaviour and help residents feel safer.
Copeland
On November 18, officers from Copeland Neighbourhood Policing Team were out in Whitehaven town centre with teams from Castles & Coasts and Cumberland Council to speak to residents in the area about their experience with anti-social behaviour.
On November 20 and 22, officers carried out a walkabout with partner agencies from the Local Focus Hub, in Cleator Moor. Officers engaged with local residents and were able to further gain an understanding of the issues affecting them the most.
The information gathered during these visits will be used to conduct targeted, high visibility patrols in the future, Cumbria police said.
Over the weekend the team carried out targeted anti-social behaviour patrols to focus on the issues of alcohol and vaping.
Eden
In the Eden area hotspot patrols were carried out in the mornings in and around New Squares in Penrith to coincide with school times and in response to reports of anti-social behaviour in the area.
On November 20, the team were also out in Pategill in Penrith with Castles & Coasts carrying out a Street Safe leaflet drop.
StreetSafe is a service that allows people to report safety concerns in public places without giving police their name. This includes issues like poorly lit streets, abandoned buildings, or vandalism, as well as instances where people feel unsafe due to someone following or verbally abusing them.
Chief Superintendent Andy Wilkinson, the force’s Neighbourhood Policing lead, said: “The week of action was an opportunity for our teams to highlight the work they do every day to tackle anti-social behaviour.
“As well as responding to incident of anti-social behaviour, a great deal of work is carried out behind the scenes to prevent further incidents occurring.
“To enable us to provide an effective policing response to anti-social behaviour incidents, we need the public to tell us about incidents that are happening in your local area. By reporting incidents to us this allows us to create a greater intelligence picture and, more importantly, allows to take appropriate action to investigate and deter further incidents.
“We know how much anti-social behaviour can disrupt and cause misery to the lives of residents in our county, and I would encourage anyone with any issues to make a report or speak to a member of your local policing team.”
