The community of Millom is set to benefit from a dedicated Community Beat Officer to join the wider Copeland Neighbourhood Policing Team. Millom joins other areas in the county such as Keswick, Whitehaven and Workington to receive the role.
PC Kai Diesveld started his role in May and has already begun work to understand and respond to the concerns and issues relating to crime and anti-social behaviour in Millom.
He will be investigating incidents of crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour that is affecting the community with and targeting repeat offenders as well as working to support victims.
PC Diesveld is part of the wider Copeland Neighbourhood Policing Team and joins other established Community Beat Officer who will work together and share problems when required to fully implement policing tactics across the area, including Millom.
PC Diesveld has already jointed forces with the intelligence Unit and taskforce in a joint operation in Millom targeting anti-social behaviour and crime, which resulted in two warrants under the Misuse of Drugs Act and three vehicles stopped and a man reported for disqualified driving.
Inspector Richard Smillie, of Copeland Neighbourhood policing team said “The Community Beat Officer role will see PC Diesveld deployed to Millom, where he will have a visible presence.
“As part of this role he will be speaking with residents, business owners and visitors to understand their issues and working with them and partners to prevent and detect crime and tackle anti-social behaviour.
“PC Diesveld is an experienced officer with years of service across a range of knowledge that will help support the policing of Millom with the wider team and our partners.”
Speaking on his role as Community Beat Officer Kai said: “I have already had a great start to the role conducting an operation to target anti-social behaviour and drug offences.
“As the role continues, I hope to gain further understanding of the issue facing the communities in Millom and will work with partners to address these as well as local business and communities.”
Cumbria’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC), Peter McCall comments: “Having dedicated officers in our communities is a great way to understand both the people and issues which need to be addressed, especially in our more isolated rural locations.
“Becoming a victim of anti-social behaviour can be an extremely distressing and upsetting experience. If left unchecked, it can ruin people’s lives and devastate communities. Community Beat Officers can really get on top of these issues and nip them in the bud. We’ve seen positive evidence of this already in the Maryport area.
“I’ve been very conscious that, given the particularly challenging location of Millom, we needed a better policing presence there. I’m delighted that with our increased officer numbers, we’re now able to have a dedicated officer, supported by others, for the town. I will be watching performance and expect that we will see the same positive effect demonstrating in other locations already.
“Anti-social behaviour is unacceptable, and the Police take all reports seriously. If you ever experience or witness ASB, please report online via www.cumbria.police.uk or call 999 in an emergency.”
If you wish to contact Millom’s Community Beat Officer, you can do so by reporting information online at www.cumbria.police.uk/report-it.
You can engage with and follow the work of PC Diesveld and the Copeland Neighbourhood Policing Team by following their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CopelandPolice or follow @Copelandpolice on Twitter.
You also can also sign up to a monthly newsletter for the area by visiting – https://public.govdelivery.com/…/UKCUMBR…/subscriber/new
