CCTV Continues to be Rolled Out in Cumbria’s Rural Communities

Cumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Peter McCall continues to work with district, town and county councils to extend the existing CCTV network throughout Cumbria, including rural communities such as Cockermouth, Keswick and Windermere.

Although there have been some delays due to the Covid19 pandemic, the partnership working, purchase and ongoing support for the installation Phase 2 of the CCTV in the county has continued.

Cumbria Constabulary and local authorities identified areas where additional investment in CCTV infrastructure would best serve to protect communities and last year, the addition of the proposed 24 new cameras to the 56 installed in Phase 1, took the total to 80 cameras across the county, monitoring crime and anti-social behaviour in local towns.

Cumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Peter McCall comments: “I am delighted that our work with the local councils to develop the next stage of CCTV continues and that the installation of the Phase 2 cameras across the county is progressing.

“The last year has brought changes in priorities and adapted ways of working. Numerous cameras are already up and running, with the rest of the Phase 2 allocation due for installation over the next few months as we work through the road map of recovery from the pandemic.

“Following on the work with Councilor Pete McSweeney, the excellent partnership working with practical solutions and power supply funding from Cumbria County Council has shown that when we work together, the best results can be achieved. I often talk about ‘we not they’ and this is clear evidence of local communities working with us for a really successful solution for our people.

“The CCTV cameras are a great additional resource in the fight against crime and anti-social behaviour and helps to focus and target our officers on criminals and their activity. They have assisted in locating vulnerable missing people, as well as identifying vehicles and individuals suspected to be involved in committing crime.

“People have to feel safe in the area they live and the installation of CCTV cameras provides reassurance to local people, that the police are monitoring anti-social behavior and its consequences.

“The cameras, along with the recruitment of additional officers to work in local neighbourhoods, forms part of our drive to develop community policing throughout the county to keep people in Cumbria safe.”

Andy Petty, CCTV Manager Cumbria Police comments: “The current pandemic has obviously caused us some operational difficulties in rolling out the CCTV expansion project, but I’m pleased to say that the Partnership have pulled together to ensure that the expansion has continued through these challenging times. The expansion will mean that we have CCTV coverage in many more towns around the County and also provides additional coverage to the existing network”.

Ian Harker, Lighting Manager at Cumbria County Council comment: “The council welcomed to opportunity to work closely with our partners in assisting the delivery of CCTV installation. We are committed to ensuring people in Cumbria are healthy and safe and look forward to continuing to support this initiative to make our streets safer”.

Peter Wood, Director of Telemachus comment: “We are delighted to be working with the PCC and Cumbria Constabulary on this CCTV expansion.

“The existing system has been in successful operation since 2015 and has been an invaluable tool in assisting Cumbria Constabulary deal with a large number of incidents, including alcohol consumption, antisocial behaviour, assault, burglary, drugs, missing persons, public order and robbery.

“We believe the additional re-deployable cameras will increase public safety, prevent crime, aid tourism and provide additional peace of mind within the extra local communities.”

Andy Jones, General Manager at Gspen comments: “We are over the moon that the cameras have now been installed. It now gives all of the 150+ businesses on our three industrial estates, the peace of mind that the roads in and out of the BID area are being monitored.

“We want our industrial estates to be a safe place for everybody who works, visits and does business here, and the introduction of these cameras will reinforce this view. All of the directors involved in the Penrith Industrial BID, would like to thank the PCC and those at EDC for making this possible. Without them, we could not have realised this project.”

Sheila Brown from Cockermouth town council comments: “We welcome the recent installation of a CCTV camera on Main Street. This two year project would not have been possible without the assistance of our partners; the Police and Crime Commissioner, Peter McCall for the £3,000 funding package to assist with the initial capital purchase, Telemachus, our supplier who helped us identify the different options available on our chosen site and the Dedicated Monitoring Unit who were instrumental in helping us to purchase a camera, which integrates with the constabulary monitoring network.”

The Mayor of Cockermouth, Julie Laidlow comments: “The camera will assist us to reduce crime and ensure the continued economic prosperity of our community, providing much needed reassurance.”

As snapshot of some of the evidence produced from CCTV cameras in Keswick from 27^th December 2020 – 2^nd January 2021:

27.12.20 ASB – A group of young people were repeatedly kicking a ball up against shop windows in the Market Square. The CCTV created still pictures that were subsequently passed onto local officers.

28.12.20 – CCTV cameras assisted local officers in the search for two children missing from home who were subsequently found.

31.12.20 – In the early hours of the morning, CCTV recorded two hooded males seen to exit a white van and were acting suspiciously around shop premises. The vehicle details and stills were passed onto the Force for Intel.

02.01.21 – An alarm was activated on a retail premises and the location was subsequently covered by CCTV until uniform officers attended and checked the rear of the premises were secure.

List of CCTV cameras as part of Phase 2

Ambleside 1

Brampton 1

Cockermouth 1

Kendal 1

Keswick 2

Kirkby Lonsdale 2

Milnthorpe 1

Ulverston 3

Wigton 3

Windermere 4

Maryport 3