A pilot project which has seen police officers deployed from towns to more rural beats has been successful since it was extended to encompass
the Keswick area, it is claimed.
Officers in the town have been able to target anti-social behaviour and drug offending due in no small part to increased intelligence from the local community, says Cumbria police and crime commissioner Peter McCall.
The rural officers are funded by him through a 2.47 per cent increase in council tax and the Government’s Operation Uplift, the first phase of which saw 51 extra officers recruited.
The pilot project started a year ago in Ambleside and Windermere, along with Brampton and Longtown, and has since been extended to Keswick, Wigton, Appleby, Kirkby Stephen, Alston and Millom. There are plans to continue it in Ulverston this year.
“Cumbria is a large and mostly rural community with many local areas being hard to reach quickly,” said Mr McCall.
“That’s why it is so important we have these officers based in our local communities. Not only can they react and reach emergency calls quicker but they can learn more about the area, be closer to the community and grip issues early.
“I think we have to recognise that some criminals may have felt untouchable in these more remote locations.
“They are wrong and I hope this helps reassure our local communities that the police will be dealing with criminality and keeping our rural towns and their wider areas safe,” he told a public accountability conference.
Cumbria is going to be almost 200 officers better off by the end of Operation Uplift.