Cumbria’s police, fire, and crime commissioner has shared a message to everyone this Christmas.

Reflecting on a year of policing and responding to emergencies, Peter McCall also asked the public to think of emergency service workers who risk their lives and safety to do their job all year round.

This year in policing saw a series of operations and units launched to tackle crime by sector, such as the roads policing unit to fight crime behind the wheel, an operation to prevent and raise awareness of crime against women and girls, and the relaunch of op lantern to get illegal weapons off the street.

He also remarked on the big governmental change in Cumbria, with the transition from Cumbria County Council to the two unitary authorities, and the changes across the fire and policing services.

In his message, Mr McCall said: “I want to give my personal thanks to all emergency service workers in Cumbria who put their lives and health on the line to keep the public safe. 

“We are very fortunate to have such highly professional and dedicated Emergency Services and we owe them a huge debt of gratitude.

“I would particularly like to thank all the police officers, firefighters, civilian staff, and our many volunteers for all their hard work over the last year to keep us safe and consistently deliver professional and dedicated services.

“At this time of year, I like to look back on what has been achieved in the last 12 months.

“It has been a busy year with many changes taking place across fire and policing.

“We welcomed new chiefs for both organisations, with chief constable Rob Carden and chief fire officer Rick Ogden being appointed to lead their respective services.

“For policing, we have reached the end of Operation Uplift, a national operation to recruit an additional 20,000 officers across England and Wales.

“Cumbria has recruited the extra 198 officers that were delegated to the county. 

“Added to additional officers already recruited since 2016 we now have 1383 full-time equivalent police officers in Cumbria, the most the county has even seen.

“We have also seen the introduction of community beat officers (CBOs) introduced across the county.

“CBOs are dedicated, named officers who have responsibility for communities across the county, working with partners and residents to help tackle crime issues such as anti-social behaviour which has fallen by 10.5 per cent in the last 12 months.

“In April 2023, I took on governance responsibility for Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) as local government reform disbanded the county council.

“In the last eight months, we have been working closely with the chief fire officer to stabilise a precarious budget, address issues raised by the negative HMICFRS report and to deliver a safe and legal service.

“I’m pleased to note that we have been able to secure additional funding support to deal with long-standing problems with the fire estate and buildings many of which have suffered from underfunding for many years. 

“More work is needed, but the chief fire officer and his team now have clear plans to continue this good work.  

 

“I am extremely grateful to every member of both services for their commitment, dedication and service throughout the year to keep our county safe and thank everyone for their service.

 

“I would like to wish everyone a safe and healthy Christmas and new year.”