Tackling speeding in Eden - Our community speed watch needs you
Speeding is an issue often raised as a concern among our communities.
As a result, we are seeking to implement further community speed watch schemes throughout the Eden area. Would you be interested?
For further details please speak to your local Police Community Support Officer. In Appleby this is PCSO Sally Ewbank; in Appleby Rural this is PCSO Karen Dakin; in Kirkby Stephen and Kirkby Stephen Rural this is PCSO Janet Allinson.
Alternatively, you can contact scheme co-ordinator, PC 1707 Norman Black, directly by telephoning 101, ext 401707 - or emailing norman.black@cumbria.police.uk
PCSO 5406 Ewbank & PC 2542 Hall
There have been problems with anti-social behaviour - this is what we are doing
Town centre and play parks
What's the issue? During the Christmas holidays there was an increase in anti-social behaviour in the town centre and play parks.
What are we doing about it? We have been engaging with the young people in the town centre and educating them on their behaviour.
We are actively recording any incidents and intelligence and speaking with parents.
The town CCTV has been moved to monitor these areas and we will be actively on foot patrol at night time. Any appropriate policing action will be taken.
Drinking on playing field
What's the issue? We have received complaints regarding drinking of alcohol on St George Playing Field on Saturday afternoons while football games are on.
What are we doing about it? Appleby town is covered by a PSPO (public spaces protection order) which allows us to deal with a nuisance or problem behaviour in public spaces.
It is an offence to fail to cease drinking or surrender alcohol in these areas.
We are working alongside Appleby Football Club and Eden District Council to stop this behaviour.
We will be actively patrolling this area and engaging with supporters on Saturday afternoons.
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Multi-agency partnership working
We work with other agencies all the time as problems we face can often be solved or tackled best when linking-up with other professionals or partners.
Below are two examples in the last month in our patch.
Visits alongside immigration officers
On Tuesday January 11, we worked alongside immigration officers to conduct visits to various businesses in the Appleby and Upper Eden area.
Any follow up enquiries will be carried out following the visits.
Working with school to address issues
This month we will be attending a professional meeting at Appleby Grammar School to support a family with ongoing problems in and out of school.
Attending these meetings help prevent any community issues and improve communication across different agencies.
Tackling a suspected roads offence - vehicle uplifted and seized
In the early hours of the morning a vehicle registered to a street in Appleby failed to stop for police officers in Penrith and was suspected to be being driven without insurance.
This vehicle was uplifted and seized under powers available.
Work with schools and in the community
Drop in and see us
We are out in the community all-year-round - and continue to do our monthly drop in session at Appleby Tourist Information Centre / Cloisters, from 10am until 12pm.
The next drop in will be on Wednesday February 9.
Education
We organised a guest speaker Amy Bray, a environmental campaigner, to do a talk to year seven pupils last month as part of our ongoing project in the community.
This was followed by a visit from the Cumbria Road Safety Partnership van and our Collision Reduction Officer to do a fun session with some Year 11 pupils.
Parking
Parking is often an issue that is dealt with by local authorities - but before the Christmas holidays we received complaints regarding vehicles parking on double yellow lines outside both the primary and secondary school in Appleby.
Parking here is not acceptable and the double yellow lines are here to keep your children safe. Please park sensibly.
Safety
Part of our role in the community is to be familiar faces to our schools - and during the festive season we helped Appleby Primary School staff walk students safely to St Lawrence's Church for their Christmas carol service and again the next day so the choir could sing for parents and residents in town.
PCSO 5206 Dakin & PC 2542 Hall
Week of action in the community
We will be out speaking to residents in one our our villages follow concerns raised with us.
On Friday January 21 we will be conducting a Streetsafe operation on Linden Park, Temple Sowerby, where we go out to gather views.
There have been a number of issues raised by concerned residents and our aim is to have a clearer picture of the issues.
We will aim to update you next month with the results.
This will be followed by rural patrols in areas where we have had recent calls for service following suspicious vehicles and reports of possible poachers.
Thank you to the public
Over the last month there have been reports of a man flagging down motorists across Cumbria requesting fuel in exchange for items.
On December 29 2021 a man was arrested on suspicion of fraud offences.
Many thanks to all who have reported incidents or who have provided information.
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Suspicious activity - Lamping
We are always grateful for reports of suspicious vehicles in our area.
These reports are followed up and we value the information provided.
Occasionally, when vehicles reported as being suspicious are stopped and the people inside spoken to, they are lamping legitimately on land they have permission to be on.
Please try to make sure that you make police aware via 101 when and where you will be going lamping and what vehicle you will be using.
This can save time and help to reassure other member of the public who may call to report seeing lights.
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Engagements - Where can you find us
With schools now back open following the Christmas break we will be visiting in the mornings and evenings to help with any road safety issues and to speak to parents and children.
The schools we visit are Bolton, Crosby Ravensworth, Kirkby Thore, Long Marton, Milburn, Morland and Temple Sowerby.
We look forward to seeing you all and helping out our Mini Police parking buddies.
We continue with our usual drop ins, which will be outside if Covid-19 guidelines dictate.
We are available on the first Monday of each month at Maulds Meaburn coffee morning, from 10.30am to 11.30am.
The second Monday of each month we will be at Shap Primary School from 11am to 12pm.
We are also available at Kirkby Stephen and Penrith Auction Mart each month. Dates and times will be advertised on our website.
Be bright - be seen
The weather can be wet and grey at this time of year but it’s still great to get out in the fresh air.
When walking, running, cycling or riding on the roads, please remember to be bright and be seen.
Make sure you wear some high visibility clothing so that other road users can clearly see you and give you a safe space. Also remember lights and reflectors if it is dark.
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Volunteers helping address issue of rural crime
We have already recruited a further two volunteers this month who are going to work with us to tackle rural crime as part of Country Watch Eden and our nights of action.
It is lovely to welcome some fresh faces to add to our already amazing group of volunteers.
PCSO 5169 Allinson & PC 5365 Threlkeld
Working together to tackle issues in the community
A lot of our work involves working with other agencies as issues can often be resolved best this way.
This week police officers and staff from Castles and Coasts will be conducting a Streetsafe in Briarcote.
This will involve us speaking to residents and gathering opinions.
There have been a number of reported incidents and this is to help resolve any ongoing issues through a joint partnership working.
We will aim to update you next month with the results.
Parking issues and their impact on safety
As discussed elsewhere in the newsletter, parking problems are often dealt with by agencies other than the police.
But one situation to report on is we have received complaints regarding vehicles parking on the pavement outside Gasgarth Mews properties.
By parking in such a manor people visiting the Cemetery are having to walk on the road.
We have increased patrols in the area and a leaflet drop is going to be made to residents.
Reports were also received regarding inconsiderate parking around the Rugby Club in town.
The offending vehicle owner was spoken to and suitable advice given.
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Suspicious activity
We received a call regarding suspected poachers in the Bleatarn area on January 8 at about 9.30am.
Patrols searched the area - but it transpired they had left.
Please continue to report suspected poachers to the police. All information is valuable.
Rural thefts - we're stepping up patrols in response
Patrols have been increased in the Hartley area folllowing a series of thefts.
They happened during the early hours on December 23, with vehicles targeted. Personal items and lose change were taken.
A shed was also broken into and items removed. They were later recovered from beside the road in the village.
Please always keep your vehicles secure.
PCSO 5178 Nicholson
Speeding and vehicle issues - what we're doing in response
What's the issue? We had a complaint regarding speeding in Clifton and large vehicles driving too close to pedestrians at school pick-up and drop-off.
What have we done? We have liaised with the local road safety department, who will organise unmarked patrols to attend and access the situation.
There have also been high-visiblity patrols and speed checks in the area.
Keeping people safe on a night out in Eden
Many of us enjoy a night out in Penrith - and we ended 2021 with multi-agency working by providing a welfare hub in the town centre over the festive period.
The hub, planned and implemented by our Eden Neighbourhood Policing Team, had trained paramedics, mental health support workers and firefighters on hand to help if needed.
The overall aim was to maximise safety for the public, offer an immediate and visible service for welfare and help reduce demand for emergency services in Eden.
It was available on Festive Friday, Boxing Day night and New Year's Eve and was located in the Market Square between 7.30pm and 1am, then relocated to Sandgate until 3am as demand in the night-time economy shifted.
Penrith town Sergeant Jack Stabler said:
“Penrith is a popular location to celebrate over the festive period and it is essential that we plan for the potential demand increase for both the town and surrounding rural areas.
"It was vital that a partnership approach was implemented to ensure that we could continue to keep people safe and manage emergency service demand across all sectors.
"This set-up means that emergency services are all working together in the same place, helping people at what is one of the busiest times of the year.”
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Sgt Stabler added: “The welfare hub was very well received from all members of public and it cannot be quantified what crime we have prevented by having such a large, uniformed presence in the town centre.
"In total, we helped 25 people and dealt with a mixture of issues including criminal offences, as well as providing First Aid to those in need.
"We are already planning where the welfare hub can be re-implemented over the next 12 months in our event calendar.
"Thank you to all agencies who were involved and members of public who utilised this service.”
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In other news
Have your say on maintaining the police service in Cumbria
The Police and Crime Commissioner has launched his annual public consultation, asking for views on his proposed increase in council tax.
The increase would be 65p per month, per household for a band B property. For a Band D property, this equates to £9.99 a year or 83p a month.
This request is one that is not made easily, however is one that is crucial in maintaining the police service we currently provide.
Please click here to access the survey and vote to have your say.
For more information please click here.
Former Assistant Chief Constable recognised for distinguished service in the New Year Honours list
Cumbria’s former Assistant Chief Constable, Andrew Slattery, has been awarded the Queen’s Police Medal in the New Year Honours list.
Mr Slattery, who retired last year, was recognised for his distinguished service following 30 years in policing.
Please click here for the full story.
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We urge families to be aware of romance fraud
Family members of online daters are being urged to help protect their relatives from becoming a victim of romance fraud, as new national figures show almost £92m has been lost through dating scams this year alone.
Between November 2020 and October 2021 Cumbria Police received 63 reports of romance fraud.
Detective Sergeant Jonathan Kelly said: “These scams can be extremely sophisticated and those victim to such a scam should not be embarrassed and are encouraged to report it.
“Many victims are convinced that the person is real with the fraudster gaining the victim's trust over weeks with fabricated details on their lives, before a story is produced asking for money.
"These will have a variety of emotive reasons and as the emotional relationship has already been formed, victims often transfer money without a second thought.
“We would urge people to protect themselves and make family members aware of the warning signs if they are online dating and might not be aware of this type of scam.
“Together with our partners, we are urging people to look after themselves online and aim to spot the signs of romance fraud.”
For more information and advice, please click here.
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