Summary
Cumbria is the second largest county in England but, with a population of just less than half a million, one of the most sparsely populated. There are a number of isolated, rural communities and the county has one of the lowest visible ethnic minority populations in the country; however, it has an increasing number of migrant workers from Eastern Europe. Each year, Cumbria attracts over 12 million visitors, both as holiday-makers and to attend major events. It has a number of key sites requiring specific contingency planning, such as Sellafield, and major incidents like the Grayrigg train crash in 2007 demand an immediate response from limited resources. All of these factors result in an extremely diverse and challenging policing environment.
The HMIC baseline assessment for 2006/07 found significant progress in the introduction of Neighbourhood Policing through the local policing team structure and the constabulary’s focus on the Respect programme. The constabulary now has coverage in each ward, has developed key individual networks and has introduced dedicated problem-solving teams with partners. It has identified the protection of vulnerable people as a high-risk area of operation through the range of activities undertaken across all four elements of this business area (child abuse, domestic violence, missing persons and public protection). The constabulary is addressing operational shortfalls in the structure, staffing and supervision of public protection units through its major change programme. The HMIC assessment also found good progress in performance management, with the constabulary demonstrating very strong performance against many of the priorities and targets set during 2006/07.
Cumbria is one of the safest places to live in the UK. Overall crime has fallen in recent years, with significant reductions achieved in the areas of violent crime and vehicle crime. Annual surveys demonstrate that levels of worry about anti-social behaviour are well below the national average and down on previous years’ figures. Offences brought to justice have increased, as have sanction detections, with a significant increase in satisfaction with regard to ‘progress updates’.
In 2006/07, the constabulary was successful in setting and achieving local priorities to address specific areas around anti-social behaviour and the anti-social use of motor vehicles. In 2007/08, further targets have been set to reduce criminal damage offences and increase detections, to increase detections of violent crime and to further reduce anti-social behaviour.
The 2005/06 HMIC baseline assessment graded three frameworks Poor, namely serious and organised crime, major crime and training and development. The constabulary has a strategic priority to address the gap in protective services and in July 2006 embarked on a major change programme. Senior management and the police authority are closely monitoring the constabulary’s action plan to progress all areas for improvement, many of which are now complete. Progress on improving the effectiveness of training and development has been significant, resulting in HMIC reassessing the constabulary as Good.
Major achievements for the constabulary include its recognition as a beacon for ongoing work to tackle anti-social behaviour as part of the Respect agenda. It has also been awarded beacon status, along with its partners in the local criminal justice board, for its strong and proactive approach to volume crime investigation, which has resulted in improved detection rates and reduced crime levels. In addition the constabulary has being nominated for a National Training Award as an example of effective training and has become an NVQ assessment centre.
The constabulary’s key challenges for the future are to enhance local policing services through Neighbourhood Policing and to improve protective services and deliver them through an infrastructure that is affordable, while applying good practice in change and resource management.
