Cumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Peter McCall, has agreed the policing budget for the next financial year following support from the public, the Chief Constable, and the Police and Crime Panel.

Cumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner Peter McCall, said: “I’m pleased to approve the budget that will provide the Chief Constable with the necessary money needed to continue to run an effective and efficient Police service.

“With the budget being set, I hope that the residents of Cumbria will see their value for money, especially in our rural communities.

“This newly approved budget will be able to support the officers being placed in our more rural communities where officers haven’t been based in for a number of years.

“These officers can provide a quicker response to any calls that come in from these areas and allow more urban-based officers to focus on matters in these larger towns.

“These communities include Alston, Ambleside, Appleby, Brampton, Dalton, Keswick, Kirby Stephen, Longtown, Millom, Wigton and Windermere.

“The budget will also support the investment in to Neighbourhood Policing and the possibility to extend the Community Beat Officer’s pilot scheme that is currently taking place in the west of the county.

“The Community Beat Officers are based in their local focus hub and are dedicated to understanding and responding to concerns and issues relating to crime and anti-social behaviour, which should hopefully see a reduction in low-level crimes that affect the community.

“Overall, the Constabulary is in a really good position for the next 12 months to continue to fight crime and keep our streets safe.

“I remain determined to ensure that Cumbria continues to be one of the safest counties to live, work and visit and this budget allows us to appropriately resource and support our police.”

Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Jonathan Blackwell, Cumbria Constabulary, said: “I would like to once again thank the public for their support so we can continue to effectively tackle crime and anti-social behaviour.

“We will continue to invest in neighbourhood policing to ensure that crime, anti-social behaviour and local concerns are robustly addressed. This will support the ongoing proactive work our named officers and PCSOs are conducting each day in their respective communities.

“We will also continue to tackle many of the unseen elements of policing, which threaten our communities such as safeguarding and protecting vulnerable people, managing dangerous offenders, drug supply, online fraud and crime, as well as cross-border crime.

“We are a high-performing police force, however we are not complacent and we will continue to do our upmost to maintain, and improve, our policing services and keep Cumbria safe.”