Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (Commissioner), David Allen went out on patrol with Community Beat Officer, PC Anson, to hear more about his work in the community and see first-hand how the Police are tackling anti-social behaviour in the city east area.
In the ten months, since the start of the 2024, anti-social behaviour (ASB) in the city east area of Carlisle has reduced by over 30%, whilst neighbourhood crime (which covers burglary, robbery, criminal damage and vehicle offences) has reduced by over 12%.
ASB is disruptive behaviour in community settings that causes intimidation and fear in residents. It includes a range of behaviours that can cause nuisance, annoyance, harm or distress to a person, with examples including vehicle abandonment, trespassing, vandalism, harassment and anti-social drinking.
Talking about his foot patrol with the local Community Beat Officer, David Allen said: “I patrolled Harraby and the City East area in the late 1980’s and 1990’s as a young, uniformed police officer. Anti-social behaviour was an issue we dealt with then, as now. The current work ongoing in the city east area is very much intelligence and evidence led and is targeted at reducing and tackling ASB, as this was a priority highlighted to them through their community surveys and local feedback and the data that the Constabulary hold.
“Utilising Hotspot policing, based on intelligent analysis of crime and disorder reporting there have been some truly outstanding results in Carlisle city east when tackling ASB. To reduce ASB by 30% since January is an incredible achievement by the Neighbourhood Policing Team, Community Beat Officers (CBOs) and PCSOs.
“This was further evidenced by the excellent proactive work of the local CBOs and PCSOs just last weekend. Following reports of drug use and anti-social behaviour in the area of the Garlands and New Harraby, officers used a mixture of plain clothes and uniform patrols which resulted in 15 stop searches for drugs, 1 arrest for robbery, 1 arrest for driving a vehicle whilst under the influence of drugs, 2 persons investigated for possession of class B cannabis and a number of Nitrous Oxide bottles recovered and disposed of.
“Officers have also recently completed a successful campaign in Carlisle around ASB linked to Bonfire Fire night which involved both proactive patrols and educational inputs at local schools. This resulted in a year-on-year reduction in ASB and specifically incidents linked to the use of fireworks.
“Anti-social behaviour can have a significant impact on individuals and communities which is why it is a priority all year round. The Constabulary know that having a visible presence in our towns is key to reducing the number of ASB incidents and are continuing to add hotspot areas into patrol plans.
“The Carlisle Police team are clearly dedicated to understanding and responding to local people’s concerns and issues relating to crime and anti-social behaviour – they are a credit to the Force.”
Sergeant Grant Stevens, Carlisle Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “The reduction in neighbourhood crime and anti-social behaviour has been achieved through the hard work of local officers and PCSOs, combined with support from relevant partner agencies and the communities we serve.
“We have engaged with and listened to communities about concerns they held, before using this information to proactively target priority areas. In doing so, we have achieved some great results.
“Where possible, we aim to adopt a holistic approach to tackling crime and anti-social behaviour. Our work is not simply arresting people, investigating crimes, and bringing offenders to justice. A significant proportion of our work is preventing crimes and anti-social behaviour occurring in the first place.
“We will continue to work closely with our communities and partner agencies to solve problems and work towards long-term solutions to keep people safe.”
If you wish to report to police you can do so online at Report a crime | Cumbria Police. You can also phone on 101. Always phone 999 in an emergency or if a crime is in progress.