Welcome to the June & July edition of your Neighbourhood Policing Newsletter.
You may have seen on our Facebook page we have been taking part in two campaigns, Anti-Social Behaviour Awareness Week(30 June - 6 July) and Neighbourhood Policing Week (23 - 29 June).
Across the two weeks we have been highlighting the work we do all year round with our partners.
Our team continue to work hard to keep our community safe, connected, and informed. From tackling anti-social behaviour and supporting vulnerable residents, to engaging with local schools and hosting community drop-in sessions, it’s been a busy and productive few weeks.
We’ve also included upcoming events and ways you can get involved or share your concerns.
As always, your feedback and support are vital to the work we do.
Inspector Steve Waddell
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PACT (Police And Communities Together) survey
Residents of Cockermouth, Brigham and Broughton
If you have any ongoing neighbourhood problems in your area and would like the Police to consider them, we would like to invite all (within the enclosed area in Magenta of the attached map) who live in the Cockermouth area, to fill out the linked community survey within 2 weeks.
This survey closes on Monday 14th July 2025
Neighbourhood Policing Week (23 - 29 June)
Throughout the week we have been highlighting and sharing some of the work we do all year round to help reduce crime and keep people safe.
As well as patrolling their neighbourhoods, they work to tackle local crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour related issues. They often do this by working with partner agencies such as local councils, housing providers and of course our local residents themselves.
Chief Superintendent Andy Wilkinson, Neighbourhood Policing Lead, said: “Neighbourhood Policing Week gives us the opportunity to recognise and celebrate the outstanding work that officers and staff in our NPTs are doing to keep our communities safe.
“They are at the heart of their communities and are a huge part of day-to-day policing in Cumbria.
“Having these visible, community focussed officers mean we are able to offer an accessible police presence and gain a greater understanding of the issues which need to be addressed – especially within our more rural locations.
“I am extremely proud of the role they perform, not just during this week, but every day.”
Read more about the week here - Neighbourhood Policing Week 2025 - Cumbria Constabulary
Anti-Social Behaviour Week - 30 June – 6 July 2025
At the start of July we took part in Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Awareness Week, a national initiative running from 30 June to 6 July, aimed at highlighting the impact of ASB and promoting safer, stronger communities.
This year’s theme, #MakingCommunitiesSafer, focuses on supporting victims, improving justice system responses, and encouraging better information sharing between agencies.
In January, we launched the Neighbourhood Policing Pledge, which aligns us to the national pillars of Neighbourhood Policing and ensures we deliver the government Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee. The pledge focuses on ten core priority areas of neighbourhood policing, one of those is tackling crime and anti-social behaviour.
As a priority, we launched Operation Enhance in July 2024, which has seen extra patrols in 18 areas identified as hotspots for ASB and serious violence. The operation whilst also being a visible presence has seen officers numerous arrests, stop searches, fixed penalty notices, community engagement and support given to local businesses.
As a result of Operation Enhance and the hard work carried out by the neighbourhood policing teams, the hot spot areas have seen a reduction in ASB by 35.2% between 1 July 2024 and 31 March 2025 compared to the same period in the previous year.
In relation to incidents of ASB involving young people in the hotspot areas over the same period there has been a reduction of 39.4% compared to the previous period.
Operation Enhance will continue throughout 2025/26.
Chief Superintendent Andy Wilkinson, the force’s Neighbourhood Policing lead, said: “Anti-social behaviour (ASB) is a priority, and this week highlights the work our teams and partners do every day to tackle anti-social behaviour.
“As well as responding to incident of ASB, a great deal of work is carried out behind the scenes to prevent further incidents occurring.
“ASB has a detrimental impact on our communities and encourage the public to tell us about incidents that are happening in your local area.
“Reporting allows us to create a picture of activity and allows to take appropriate action to investigate and deter further incidents.”
Councillor Judith Derbyshire, Cabinet Member for Housing and Community Safety at Westmorland and Furness Council, said: “Anti-social behaviour causes real distress and disruption to residents’ lives and has a damaging impact on our communities.
“The multi-agency work of the Community Safety Partnership and Local Focus Hubs is proactively delivering initiatives that address complex cases of ASB in our communities using education, support and, where necessary, enforcement. Alongside Cumbria Police and partners, our efforts bring us closer to achieving our vision of making Westmorland and Furness a safe and welcoming place to live, work and thrive.”
Justin McDermott, Cumberland Council’s Executive Member for Public Health and Communities, said: “Cumberland Council staff and councillors will be out and about all week talking to residents about their ASB concerns. With colleagues from the Community Safety Partnership, we hope to get a real insight into the effects of antisocial behaviour, which can have an incredibly negative impact on people’s wellbeing.
“We’ll also be sharing the help we offer through our Local Focus Hubs and, more strategically, through the Community Safety Partnership – which has ASB as one of its four main priorities.”
We encourage everyone to stay informed and get involved by following Allerdale Police on Facebook for updates on local operations, safety tips, and opportunities to engage with your local policing team.
🔗 Follow Allerdale Police on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AllerdalePolice
Multiagency walkaround & school talks - ASB week
PCSO Clare Parker has been in the area of Highfield, Cockermouth today alongside housing association staff from Castles & Coasts and Cumberland Council.
The purpose of the door knocks in the area was to link in with the local residents. We listened to their concerns and advised them how to report such behaviour.
Support and advice was given to residents. It was a great opportunity to be visible in the area and work with other partner agencies to manage and deal with any anti social behaviour.
PCSO Parker then went onto Broughton Moor school to educate the Year 5 & 6 on ASB.
So many questioned asked and lots of learning about this very relevant and important topic.
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On 30 June, PCSO Parker also visited St Bridget's school Brigham and delivered an anti social behaviour presentation.
The class engaged so well and learnt lots from the session.
It's so important to educate children on this topic.
Some things discussed were:
- how victims of ASB can feel.
- what ASB is and how ASB could lead to a crime.
- how using public spaces, including play areas should be used respectfully.
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Supporting communuities - ASB week
On 5 July, PCSO Pete Nichol and Shirley Murphy from Allerdale Copeland autism support have been doing neurodiversity visits in the Cockermouth.
These visits help neurodivergent people that have been affected by anti-social behaviour.
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Online safety talk
On 16 June, PC Emma Fearon and PCSO Pete Nichol have been into Eaglesfield paddle school with Fibrus to talk about online safety and bullying as well as cyber crime.
Year 4 were very knowledgeable with some excellent questions asked.
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Drug Activity Community Appeal
On 16 June, Keswick Community Beat Officer PC Emma Fearon has completed a DACA leaflet drop in the town.
This allows local residents to report any drugs activity anonymously.
We are looking to challenge the use and supply of drugs in this area.
Tell us about:
👉Suspicious activity on your street
👉Suspicious people or vehicles on your street
👉Drug supply in your community
👉Any concerns about crime in your neighbourhood
Anyone with information can report online at www.cumbria.police.uk/report-it.
Alternatively you can contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
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You said, we did - parking
On 5 July, we responded to reports of cars parking inappropriately on Penrith Road, Keswick.
Two vehicles were given tickets for causing an unnecessary obstruction after blocking the pavements.
Please park considerately, taking into account other road users and pedestrians. Make sure to leave enough room for prams, wheelchairs and mobility scooters to avoid people having to step into the road.
Unnecessary obstruction is a fixed penalty of £30.
PCSO invited to community group
On 3 July, West Cumbria Society for the Blind invited PCSO Clare Parker along to one of their meeting groups in Cockermouth.
We discussed so much including, crime prevention advice and how to prevent being a victim of phone call scams.
You can sign up to our Fraud Newsletter at the bottom of this newsletter.
It was such a friendly small group, and I was delighted to be asked to go along.
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Fairfield school Careers Fayre
PCSO Clare Parker supported the event on 3 July, this was an opportunity to tell the students about my role as a PCSO.
The students engaged well and it was nice to share my career journey and day to day experiences.
Some students are thinking they may want to join the police in their future career.
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Mini police get special visit
On 1 July, the Mini Police at Fairfield school had a special visit from the police dog handler and his two very special dogs, "Drake and Otto"
The dogs showed and demonstrated how very clever they really are.
It's fair to say, the mini police found this the most interesting session of the year.
You said, we did - speeding Eaglesfield
We had reports of speeding in Eaglesfield, as a result we have carried out high visibility patrols.
Speed checks have also been used with the handheld laser as well as a traffic survey conducted by Cumberland Council.
OPERATION ENHANCE: Tell us your thoughts about anti-social behaviour and violence hotspots in Cumbria
We, the Police and Crime Commissioner and partners have secured £1 million of extra funding which will see extra patrols in 18 areas, identified by statistical analysis as the county's hotspot areas of anti-social behaviour and serious violence.
These areas include areas of Carlisle, Barrow, Workington, Whitehaven, Kendal, Penrith, Maryport, Cleator Moor, Ulverston and Bowness-on-Windermere.
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National Amnesty
Cumbria Police is supporting a national 'Ninja Sword' amnesty, ahead of a ban on owning such weapons coming into effect.
From August 1, it will be illegal to possess, sell, make or import the weapon. Those who currently possess a Ninja sword will not be permitted to keep it once the order comes into effect, unless a specific legal defence applies.
Ninja Swords are a sword which has length of at least 14 inches, but no more than 24 inches in length. The sword must have the following:
- A primary straight cutting edge
- A secondary straight cutting edge
- A blunt spine
- And either a tanto style point or a reversed tanto style point
Ahead of the ban coming into place, a surrender scheme is taking place from today until July 31 to allow people to hand them in.
Please follow guidance on the Home Office website and have the relevant paperwork completed before handing in the swords before visiting a police station.
More: https://orlo.uk/z9o8Y
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StreetSafe is a service that allows you to report safety concerns in public places without giving us your name.
This includes issues like poorly lit streets, abandoned buildings, or vandalism, as well as instances where you feel unsafe due to someone following or verbally abusing you.
Report an issue here: StreetSafe | Cumbria Police
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