Morecambe police arrested seven people, seized a car and carried out searches at four properties as part of a two-day operation focussing on community concerns.
Officers in Morecambe have been listening closely to what residents have had to say at Police And Communities Together meetings, through a special survey carried out in the Westgate area and via other forums and carried out the operation as a direct result of issues raised by local people.
On Monday, officers arrested seven people who had outstanding warrants against them from the courts. All were transferred directly to Lancaster Magistrates Court to be dealt with. The following day a search warrant was executed in connection with North Yorkshire Police at a property in Granville Road, where a 39-year-old male was arrested on suspicion of theft.
Searches were also carried out at Batholomew Road and at a flat on Alexandra Road, although nothing was found at the addresses.
Officers later seized an uninsured car and a motorist was reported for driving licence offences.
“With the assistance of our specialist staff we have been able to directly respond to our communities’ concerns and issues raised in the local PACT meetings,” says Inspector Geoff Tagg, Morecambe Police. “They told us they were concerned about these addresses and we responded positively within a short space of time.
“Some residents have already been in touch with us to express their thanks but we would also like anyone with any information about any anti-social behaviour in their area to contact us so that we can work together to improve life for local residents.”
Launched in 2004, PACT Meetings and the community policing initiatives that sprang from them have proved popular with local residents, offering more opportunities for ‘intelligence gathering’ which can have an impact on crime levels – including anti-social behaviour.
With impending cuts to the Home Office budget due later this year, many people have raised concerns that community policing will be reduced. Earlier this year, for example, Edinburgh Council chiefs slashed £147,000 worth of funding for community policing as part of their cost-cutting drive. London also cut its policing budget in February although the cuts were not to “frontline officers”
The Daily Telegraph noted to day that traditional “old fashioned” police station face the axe and officer numbers are set to plummet as Government departments are forced to cut costs in the wake of the Budget.
• Anyone with concerns about their community should contact police on 01524 63333.