Victims of crime were among those who attended a public meeting hosted in Workington.
Policing minister Sarah Jones visited the town and met with Whitehaven & Workington MP Josh MacAlister and Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner David Allen.
She went on a walking surgery with them, and police officers, in Salterbeck to meet residents before the meeting was held at the town’s Carnegie Theatre, today, Sunday November 23.
They were joined by Allerdale Neighbourhood Policing Team inspector Stephen Waddell.
They spoke about the work to get more officers on the streets, Operation Enhance which targets anti-social behaviour and targeting violence against women and girls.
He added that the use of technology, including drones and bodycams was making a big difference to fighting crime in Cumbria.
One of the questions came from a West Cumbrian mother, whose son had been attacked by a group.
The case had been closed twice by Cumbria police, but her determination and the intervention of Mr MacAlister and Mr Allen saw it be reopened for a third time. It is now an ongoing investigation.
The incident had been filmed and she said: “My son was humiliated.” She later added that witnesses had not been questioned by police until she had provided a list of them to Mr Allen after he and Mr MacAlister had stepped in.
Mr Allen said it was not acceptable and his role was to hold the police to account.
Another audience member said she was a victim of crime in 2021. Four years later, she had dropped the complaint because she hadn’t got anywhere with police.
She said: “Once you are a victim of crime you are invisible.”
She said communication had been non-existent and she had to contact the police to find out about progress in the investigation.
She appealed for better communication with victims.
Insp Wardell said that processes had been put in place so cases were reviewed and victims updated.
Mrs Jones said: “As a victim of crime you have to be kept up to date.”
Mr Allen added that he wanted Cumbria police to offer a quality of service, rather than a quickness of service.
Other people in the audience asked about foxhunting, a more rounded approach to tackling young people’s anti-social behaviour from the Government and protestors being arrested for backing proscribed terrorist group Palestine Action.
Mr Allen told the meeting that more money was being pumped in to Cumbria police to allow more officers to go out on the streets. He said there had been a lot of officers leave the force over the last few years.
As a result, he said, 60 per cent of officers in the constabulary have less than three years service – and many inspectors less than 10 years.
Mrs Jones told the meeting the Government was working hard to recruit more officers, make sure that it was easier and quicker to remove anyone unsuitable for the police force and make the system more streamlined so police officers were not filling out forms rather than being out on the streets.
