Cumbria's Chief Constable meets with PM and Home Secretary
Thursday, 09 April, 2009
Prime Minister Gordon Brown thanked Chief Constable Craig Mackey for the Constabulary's work in relation to Neighbourhood Policing and the Pledge in Cumbria when Chief Constable Mackey visited number 10 Downing Street this week.
Mr Mackey was among the Chief Constables from around the country who travelled to London yesterday (Wednesday, April 7) to meet with Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to discuss policing issues.
The meeting comes as the Constabulary announces some impressive results achieved over the last year particularly in the areas of most concern for the people of Cumbria. Incidents of anti-social behaviour have dropped by more than 4,100, and criminal damage by 2,384.
Burglaries of houses and other premises have continued to reduce year on year. Last year there were 30 fewer victims of burglary compared to the year before.
It is worth noting that over the past 10 years, the number of burglaries in the county has dropped by over 3,268.
Speaking after the meeting, Chief Constable Craig Mackey said: "There have been 3, 502 fewer victims of crime in Cumbria this year than last - that is a drop of more than 14 per cent.
This result and all the excellent reductions in crime over the last year have been achieved thanks to the hard work and dedication of all the Constabulary's staff and officers, with the support of the people of Cumbria, and everyone should be proud of these results.
"We are pleased that Cumbria has one of the highest levels of public confidence in the UK, and that we have been recognised nationally for the success of our neighbourhood policing teams who work closely with local people and partner agencies to tackle the issues that matter most to communities.
"I was delighted to be able to share our successes, particularly around the best practice we have achieved in Neighbourhood Policing, with the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary when I met with them in London yesterday.
"Last year we invested in the development of teams dedicated to tackling serious, organised and violent crime - now we are seeing this investment pay off.
There have been 893 fewer victims of violence compared to the previous year. We have also had one of the biggest mainland seizures of drugs ever seen in the UK when Cumbria Constabulary detectives seized 140 kilos of cocaine with a value of £15 million pounds at Harwich in Essex.
"The numbers of people killed and seriously injured on Cumbria's roads has fallen by more than five per cent in the last year. However, one death on our county's roads is one too many and over the next year we will remain committed to reducing this figure further. We will continue to enforce and educate motorists in a bid to persuade people to slow down and respect fellow road users. We will also continue to work closely with our partners to prevent anti-social behaviour leading to criminality by using early intervention tactics.
"The excellent results achieved over the last year are testament to the communities of Cumbria who continue to work with Police to help ensure the county remains one of the safest places to live, work and visit. I want this to continue in the future to help us drive crime down even further - together we can continue to improve the quality of life in every neighbourhood."
