Welcome to the February 2023 edition of the Barrow and Furness Neighbourhood Police Team newsletter.
We start by marking the occasion of PCSO Phil Sullivan's retirement on Monday 27th February 2023 after almost 17 years dedicated service with Cumbria Police.
Phil has been an outstanding servant to the public during this time, and has additionally combined his Policing role with being a Retained Firefighter on Walney.
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As a Police Community Support Officer he will be best known on Walney, where he is a well-known and respected figure throughout the schools and community. He would regularly hold Police Desks at The Roundhouse Hub and Walney Fire Station and has given hundreds of talks and visits to school children on the Island.
To mark the occasion, Chief Inspector Kye Renyard gave a few words at Barrow Police Station, surrounded by Police, Fire and other agency colleagues who Phil had worked with over the years.
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He was then shown a video of various well-wishers, including messages from all the schools.
Finally, he was presented with gifts and a lovely cake…this did not last long!
It was planned that Phil would say a few words himself, however it is safe to say he was a little overcome with the emotion of the day!
We all wish Phil a long, healthy, and happy retirement as he looks forward to becoming a grandad soon. Keep in touch, Phil!
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Throughout February the community team have been into various schools throughout Barrow and Furness to deliver important talks and messages and engage with the children with their community work.
PCSO Michelle Jones and PCSO Jess Jones went to Ormsgill Primary School recently to see how their Mini Police are getting on with their road safety project.
Mini Police work with their community team to tackle important issues in their community and see how Police solve these problems.
The PCSOs were incredibly impressed with their road safety posters they had prepared; they were a colourful display of an important message around speed and child awareness in and around Ormsgill.
They then showed them how a speed gun operates, before going onto the road side and tried out their new skills. We are pleased to report the local motorists got a big thumbs-up from the children for respecting speed limits.
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Over at Brisbane Park Primary School, local PCSO Sam Thomas, assisted by PCSO Talitha-May Kirkham and Community Beat Officer Matt Noden assisted in the children’s week-long PSHE learning (Personal, Social, Health and Economic education).
The Police were on hand to emphasise how they can keep themselves safe in a variety of social situations, from interaction with their friends and family in public, to online safety. After these important classroom inputs the children were taken outside and shown the Police vehicles and equipment.
PCSO Thomas was impressed with how well the children listened, the questions they asked and understanding they gained.
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Finally, last but by no means least, Hawcoat Community Beat Officer, PC Liam Oliver, attended Dane Ghyll School, with Sergeant John Dilks, where we were delighted to meet their Nursery and Reception children.
Once again, the emphasis of our chat was how to keep themselves safe, and also how the Police will always be there to help them and their mums and dads and families.
Following the talk, the children enjoyed trying on uniform and dressing up as Police Officers before we all went outside to have a look at the Police Van and end the morning with a blaze of lights and sirens!
We will continue to engage with all our school children and assist the teachers and staff with delivering important messages.
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Over a recent weekend, the latest Astute class boat, HMS Anson, made its journey from BAE Systems for sea trials and delivery to The Royal Navy.
Always a proud day for the town, and an incredible achievement for the BAE workforce, this has become a regular occurrence, and the Barrow and Furness public line every vantage point they can to see the impressive submarine leave the docks.
To ensure it remains a joyous and proud event, Police Officers and PCSOs were on hand to work with our Policing and stakeholder colleagues to ensure the public remain safe and the weekend could pass without adverse incident.
We look forward to assisting BAE Systems in future as the Astute programme nears completion and the Trident replacement project continues.
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In what has always proved a popular event over the years, the Barrow Community Team staged a bike marking event during the half term school holidays.
Hosted at Barrow Police Station front office, the public were invited to bring their bicycles and receive a unique stamp which will allow the police to identify, recover, and return to its rightful owner in the unfortunate event it is stolen.
It was a successful day with many bikes receiving their stamp, and we look forward to having a similar event soon; please keep an eye of the Barrow and Furness Community webpage for details of dates and locations.
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At present there is a huge recruitment and uplift in Police numbers, and it is vitally important that new Police Officers learn their own role but also learn how they can engage and support other departments within the organisation.
Attachments to the Barrow and Furness Neighbourhood Police Team is one such example where student officers spend time with us, be exposed to the work we do, and go into the community to sample how engagement with the public and partner agencies can make a huge difference to solving the problems which matter most to local residents.
A recent example was student officers PC Beth Dowden and PC Heather Laughton were invited to The Furness Multicultural Forum to meet staff and attendees and learn not only about the amazing community work they do, and how it is a safe, warm friendly environment for everyone, but also how Police, as just one agency, can support the work they do.
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The Government launched StreetSafe, as an online tool to allow people to flag places where they have felt unsafe, and describe factors that caused them concern, including anti-social behaviour or environmental reasons.
This can range from poorly paths to public harassment, these are then raised with the us whether or not a crime has been committed.
We will work with partners to address any issues raised.
If there are any public areas where you feel unsafe due to environmental issues e.g. poor street lighting, abandoned buildings, vandalism etc. please report these here - StreetSafe | Police.uk (www.police.uk)
Please note 'StreetSafe' is not for reporting crime or incidents.
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Since the turn of 2023, Community Beat Officer PC Matt Noden has been involved in rugby coaching children from St Georges School, Greengate Junior School and Sacred Heart School.
Organised by Hindpool Tigers Amateur Rugby League Club and volunteers from the schools. this is a local initiative to encourage children from disadvantaged wards to participate in junior Rugby.
During one session there was a surprise visit from Mighty Max, the Wigan Warriors mascot! He brought with him the Rugby League Challenge Cup, which Wigan are the current holders, together with some of their community coaches to assist in the event.
All the children had a fabulous time and displayed no shortage of rugby talent!
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Finally this month, we would like to update on progress on recent online surveys which went out to all Cumbria Police subscribers over the past few months.
Our PACT surveys (Police, Partners, and Communities Together) are one way for us to find out what your priorities are for the Police to address in the area of Barrow and Furness that you live.
Results have been returned and analysed for Walney, Barrow Island, Hindpool, Central, Ormsgill, Hawcoat, Parkside, Dalton and Askam, while we await the final returns for Roose, Salthouse and Newbarns.
A theme throughout the Borough is road safety and in particular speeding vehicles, while we have picked up further issues of Antisocial Behaviour and Drugs.
There are further details on our website, and additionally details of meetings and proactive work to problem solve these issues, and in next months newsletter we aim to bring you several good news 'you-said-we-did' results.
Of course, aside from these quarterly PACT surveys, you can contact our community team anytime you wish with issues of concern to you, and, again, keep an eye on the webpage for Police Desks in your area where you can pop along and discuss things with your local officers.
We are now taking applications for Special Constables
The Special Constabulary is a voluntary body, whose officers form a vital part of the police family, working alongside their regular colleagues to police the communities of Cumbria. Specials perform a variety of police duties to support regular officers with the day-to-day policing of Cumbria.
People become a Special Constable for a variety of reasons. Some people have free time and have a desire to give something back to their community, some people are very happy in their present job but want something totally different in their spare time, some people may have wanted to work in the police but for different reasons they have gone down a different career path. Specials have the same powers as regular officers, wear the same uniform and carry the same equipment as regular officers.
In all these circumstances the Special Constabulary gives you the opportunity to have a second career. This is a great opportunity to meet people from all walks of life and gain experience in a wide range of policing duties.
For more information on being a Special Constable - click here
Apply here
Police Cadet open evenings across the county
Our first Cadet open evenings are running on the below dates.
These will work on a drop-in basis and are open to any child aged 13-17 years who is interested in joining Police Cadets.
Children must attend with a parent/guardian who is over 18 years. You will be able to meet & speak to current cadets & cadet leaders and ask any question you may have.
Please register your interest here https://forms.office.com/e/P5bAUTqsDg.
Cadet recruitment will be opening on Monday 3rd April 2023. Keep an eye on our social media & Cumbria Police website for further details.
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Join us!
Have you ever thought about being a police officer?
Could you be make a real difference to people in Cumbria and help keep them safe?
Recruitment is open now. We are looking for enthusiastic and dedicated people to apply now to join our teams.
For more information on the role of a police officer and the numerous entry routes, please visit www.cumbria.police.uk/careers.
Your local officers
Want to know who your local officers are?
Simply go to our website - www.cumbria.police.uk
Scroll down the home page and you can browse different areas to see who your local team are - or enter your postcode.
Not only will you be able to find out who your named local officers and PCSOs are, you will also be able to view our local policing priorities and details of any meetings or events we will be attending.
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In other news
New survey launched about the personal safety of women and girls
We have launched a new survey so we can hear more from women and girls on how they feel about their own personal safety in Cumbria.
The online survey seeks opinion on topics including how women and girls feel in their own homes, neighbourhoods and towns - and includes questions about their own experiences.
Read more.
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Drugs and cash seized as Operation Alliance continues to protect against serious and organised crime
Officers in Cumbria are continuing an operation to protect the county against serious and organised crime.
Recently we told you about the scale of the work underway to protect Cumbria against serious and organised crime – with drugs worth £4m taken off the streets last year.
Now we can reveal that in the first six weeks of 2023 alone we have seized drugs worth at least £730,000 and about £500,000 in suspected illegally-held cash.
Read more.
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Cumbria Constabulary committed to national Race Action Plan
Following the release of The Police Race Action Plan Feedback Survey Findings, Cumbria Constabulary’s Chief Constable Michelle Skeer has today ( 13 Feb ) reaffirmed the force’s commitment to improving policing for black people.
The national Race Action Plan, published in May 2022, set out challenging targets for forces to meet. The public survey which followed, sought to gain views from members of the public, individual police officers and staff, and representatives from policing and other organisations to share their thoughts on the plan.
Read more.
Arrests made in week of action by Cumbria’s Cyber and Digital Crime Unit
Three people have been arrested at various locations around the county following a week of action by Cumbria Constabulary’s Cyber and Digital Crime Unit.
Detectives also seized 19 digital devices suspected to contain indecent images of children and made contact with a number of potential victims to ensure their safety.
The team undertook numerous enquiries with key witnesses and carried out a further suspect interview.
Read more.
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