Reduction in anti-social behaviour following hotspot patrols in South Lakes

Police officers are cutting antisocial behaviour in the county by working hundreds of extra hours on the streets of Cumbria as part of Operation Enhance – including in South Lakes.

Operation Enhance sees extra police patrols in areas identified as hotspots for anti-social behaviour and/or serious violence across the county.

The operation has been made possible thanks to £1 million of extra funding secured by Cumbria’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner from the Government’s Hotspot Response Fund to target anti-social behaviour (ASB) and serious violence in hotspot areas across the county.

The operation sees extra patrols in 18 areas identified by statistical analysis as the county's hotspot areas of anti-social behaviour and serious violence. These areas include areas of Kendal, Ulverston and Bowness.

Three months in and Operation Enhance has so far resulted in 12 arrests, 24 stop and searches and 76 intel submissions from the public – in the Furness / South Lakes area alone.

In the South Lakes area, figures currently indicate that there has been a reduction in reported ASB by 35% (compared to the previous year).

The South Lakes Neighbourhood Policing Team are also working had to disrupt anti-social behaviour and at the start of October secured an extension of an Anti-Social Behaviour Injunction (ASBI) which was given to a teen from Ulverston in July of this year.

The interim injunction, which carries a power of arrest, meaning the teen can be arrested and presented to the court for immediate outcome should any conditions be broken, helps us manage their behaviour more effectively. The injunction has been extended until the New Year (December 2024).

Inspector Ross Woods, South Lakes Neighbourhood Policing Team said: “Our officers and PCSOs will continue to patrol the hotspot areas identified within South Lakes to prevent and target those responsible for serious violence and criminal behaviour.

“I’d also like to encourage residents to continue to report such behaviour to us. This is really important as it will help us build up a precise picture of where there are persistent problems within our neighbourhoods.”