A national survey has highly ranked Cumbria Constabulary for understanding resident concerns.
The survey – an ONS study used by the Government to measure crime and develop new ways to tackle it – found the force to be number one in understanding resident concerns, with most people saying they had confidence in local policing.
The majority of those asked in Cumbria also agreed officers can be trusted. The survey also found:
- Nearly 85 per cent of people surveyed agreed police in Cumbria would treat them with respect.
- More than 72 per cent had overall confidence in policing in Cumbria – placing the county in the top five nationally.
- Cumbria was second in England and Wales for the percentage of people who agreed the force and their local council were dealing with the anti-social behaviour and crime issues that mattered.
Assistant chief constable Jonathan Blackwell said: “I am extremely proud of all the positive results the force continues to achieve.
“We are here to serve this county and our communities – and one of the best measures of how successful we are at doing so is what our residents think about the policing service they receive.
“What is particularly pleasing is most people taking part in this survey agree we understand their concerns and are proactively tackling anti-social behaviour and crime.
“It is also a reflection of the professionalism, empathy and caring nature of officers and staff that most people agreed they would be treated with respect and that they had overall confidence in what we do.”
Cumbria Police said examples of proactive policing aimed at tackling crime, anti-social behaviour and keeping people safe include:
- A month-long road safety operation last month that resulted in more than 150 arrests.
- An operation targeting the threat from county lines drugs crime earlier this year in which police made nearly 30 arrests, discovered a string of drug stashes and seized £44,000 in a two-day crackdown in and around Carlisle.
- More than 300 arrests were made during operational activity targeting criminal activity during the festive period.
ACC Blackwell said: “We have seen a large reduction in anti-social behaviour (43 per cent) and burglary (32 per cent). It’s good to see that people are seeing the difference, with a relatively small percentage of people think there is a high level of anti-social behaviour.
“We have introduced Community Beat Officers to our Neighbourhood Policing teams and they are visible in our communities, carrying out proactive patrols and increasing stop-searches, which we believe drives down anti-social behaviour and crime.
“This, as well as our Neighbourhood Pledge, keeps neighbourhood policing at the heart of our work.
“This survey shows this work is paying off and that our officers and staff know their communities well and know what the concerns are on the streets of our neighbourhoods.
“We hope by continual improvement we can increase the percentage and number of people who have trust and confidence in us even further.”
Cumbria’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, David Allen, said: “I’m incredibly pleased to see that the public overwhelmingly have confidence in their police and believe that they would be treated with respect by officers, here in Cumbria.
“We police by consent in the county and want our residents to have full confidence in what the Police are doing to proactively and reactively tackle crime.
“Cumbria is a safe place to live, work and visit and the most recent crime survey emphasises this point.
“However, this does not mean that we are resting on our laurels – Cumbria Constabulary are continuously developing as an organisation with the aim to be the best force in the country.
“As Commissioner, I will continue to hold the Chief Constable to account in order to achieve this and be the voice of the public within policing.”
