Anti-social behaviour falls in Carlisle West during summer holidays
Police officers in the west of Carlisle have been praised for helping reduce reports of anti-social behaviour by 36 per cent over the school summer holidays.
Incidents across the whole of the Carlisle West beat were down from 520 between 16 July and 2 September 2009 to 333 between 16 July and 2 September 2010.
These can be broken down as follows:
• Incidents in Bitts Park, Caldewgate, Willowholme, Newtown Road and Raffles were down 31 per cent, from 111 during the summer break in 2009 to 77 over the same period in 2010.
• Incidents were down in Belle Vue and Yewdale by 9 per cent from 53 in 2009 and 48 in 2010.
• Incidents were down in Morton and Caldewgate by 43 per cent from 224 in 2009 and 127 in 2010.
• Incidents were down in Denton Holme and Longsowerby by 39 per cent from 132 in 2009 to 81 in 2010.
Officers from the Carlisle West Neighbourhood Policing Team put the reduction down to the use of more targeted policing operations and the provision of activities to divert young people from hanging around on local streets.
In honour of their hard work, the High Sheriff attended one of the team’s ‘Summer Splash’ events to present PCSO Mark Nevison, who was representing the whole Carlisle West Neighbourhood Policing Team, with an award “in recognition of great and valuable services to the community.”
Inspector Tony Quinn, who leads the Carlisle West Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “People living in the west of Carlisle have told us that incidents of anti-social behaviour rise during the school holidays, so every year we refine our operations and tactics in a bid to tackle the problem.
“This summer we ran an operation codenamed ‘Operation Nectarine’, where police officers, PCSOs and Special Constables concentrated their patrols at times of peak demands. This means they swapped their rest days and shifts to work at the busiest times, which were mainly evenings and weekends. This ensured we had a more visible presence to prevent trouble, and were on hand to tackle incidents as they arose.
“We also worked closely with Connexions, Riverside Housing, Carlisle City Council, Impact Housing, Carlisle & Eden Crime and Reduction Partnership (CDRP) and the Fire and Rescue Service to hold six youth events called ‘Summer Splash’, which gave local youngsters a fun place to go and provided an alternative to hanging around on local streets.
“These were funded by a generous grant of £6,000 made available by the CDRP. Overall, 1154 young people attended these events with activities including archery, pole jousting, face painting, sumo wrestling, bicycle obstacle courses and more.”
These types of activities continue throughout the year. Every Wednesday night the policing team and City Council run the SAFE (Sport Activity Fitness Exercise) club at Morton Richard Rose Academy, which is open to all young people aged 11-17yrs. Activities include football, basket ball, team sports, swimming and gym sessions and admission is 50p.
Insp Quinn added: “Unfortunately there is still a hardcore of young people who are intent on causing disorder and the Morton dispersal order is still in place. The new dispersal order has resulted in eight potential trouble makers being dispersed from the area since 16th August when the new order came into power. This will be a tactic that neighbourhood police officers will concentrate on in the coming months, so that we can try and nip issues in the bud before incidents of anti-social behaviour occur.”
Pictured: PCSO Mark Nevison receiving the commendation from the High Sheriff.