Operation Respect

Operation RESPECT makes a great start.

Allerdale Borough Council supported by Allerdale Focus Hub partners and Cumbria Police attended Charles Close, Workington to provide support and help to clear the area of unwanted rubbish and fly tipping.

PCSO's 5337 Alison Renney and 5157 Lisa Jackson attended the community clean up in the area. Local agencies and volunteers teamed up as part of Operation Respect.

PCSO Renney said "It is important the public see that the local public services and volunteers hear they complaint of fly tipping, that where we can we challenge this and make the area cleaner, safer for out children to play. It is great credit to the Allerdale Local Focus hub for progressing this initiative bringing together many partners and volunteers who have given up their time to help today."

Anyone with information on fly tipping is asked to report issues via My Allerdale App available on google play and the App Store or visit myAllerdale portal

Eviction 

Following several months of liaison with the local community, Allerdale Local Focus Hub and Allerdale NPT we can confirm that a resident on Blackburn Street in Workington has been evicted.

Acting Police Sergeant Leesa Edwards said "Extensive work went into achieving this result and I wish to thank the local community as well as the landlord for their much needed assistance in dealing with this issue.

"People should be able to enjoy their homes free from the behaviour this community suffered.

"These actions take a lot of time, they are often finalised with court order to evict or lose down premises. I am happy to report the community no longer have to suffer anti-social behaviour, criminality and noise nuisance as a result of this resident and their visitors. This incident is testament to the work that goes on behind closed doors to provide help and reassurance to the local community long term"

ASB Week 19th July - 23rd July 2021 in West Cumbria

West Cumbria Youth Council (WCYC) were supporting Cumbria Police to promote anti-social behaviour week, last week.

They were to be found in Aspatria, Workington town centre and Silloth green on what felt like the hottest days of the year!

Their mission was to help inform young people on how to report anti-social behaviour and to raise awareness of what that behaviour could look like. Anti-social behaviour comes in many different forms, from dog fowling, fly tipping, unwanted graffiti, to being intimidated in the street or where you live and even online.

WCYC wanted to raise awareness of online hate crime, the likes of which we saw directly after the Euro football final, where players experienced race hate and online harassment and bullying. In order to help other young people to understand the impact and to contribute to a more positive environment in which we live, we had a Marcus Rashford Wall of Respect. Young people were encouraged to write their positive affirmations and anti-bullying messages and pin them to our wall. We had some lovely comments from young people, including “Kindness is free” “Racism isn’t ok” and “Respect each other, it’s that simple”. We wanted to show the empathy and kindness of others exists, especially in young people, who sometimes get hard press when it comes to anti-social behaviour, and how words can change perspectives and unite each other.

Our Member of Youth Parliament Aaron Kelly was also in attendance and was on hand to collect suggestions from young people to help combat ASB. Most, if not all, indicated that there was more need for safe places for young people to hang out with friends and facilities in order to combat boredom. Both Aaron and his deputy Josh Gillson are keen to press the importance of positive roles models, such as Marcus Rashford, for young people to look up to.

The display will be going up in a local library (venue tbc) soon, in order to further encourage the messages and positivity and for others to add to if they wish to. WCYC would like to thank Cumbria Police for the opportunity to support them with this initiative.

Cumbria Police report reduction in ASB and Crime in St Michaels Ward and Workington Town Centre.

Crime in St Michaels Ward has dropped dramatically during the month of July.

Reported crime has decreased from 73 reports in June 2021 to 27 reports in July 2021. The most significant drops is under categories such as violence against a person which dropped by 66% with a similar 66% reduction in arson and criminal damage offences. Other notable reductions are a 78% drop in reported theft offences.

Police Sergeant, Scott Adams, said:

“Anti-social behaviour is a priority for the police, unfortunately the actions of a few can cause negative impacts on a whole community.

“Local officers and PCSOs have been working to improve the quality of life for people in The St Michaels Ward and Town Centre area and we have seen many positive results.

“However, we are never complacent and officers are actively working to reduce criminal activity, including anti-social behaviour in this area. The communities continued assistance in provide statements and intelligence which can help us identify and tackle issues as swiftly as possible is always appreciated. We are targeting those groups or individuals identified as involved using our proactive teams and the Constabulary have increased officers in the area following the PCC’s supported precept increase.

“We have arrested a number of people in relation to incidents in this area and will always bring offenders to justice, including charging where attainable. Criminal activity of any kind, including anti-social behaviour is completely unacceptable and we will continuing to support the St Michaels Ward and Town centre community and appreciate their ongoing support, as we continue to work to reduce ASB and related criminal activity."