Town sees anti-social behaviour drop by almost half after introducing just one 'bobby on the beat'

A seaside town has seen anti-social behaviour drop by almost half after introducing just one “bobby on the beat”.

In the last nine months, since community beat officer PC Sam Steele has patrolled the streets of Maryport, in Cumbria, anti-social behaviour (ASB) has reduced by 47 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Now Cumbria Police hope other forces across the UK will take note and reintroduce more local ‘beat’ policing - especially in rural areas where officers can really get to know all local youths and businesses.

PC Sam Steele explained: “They see you day to day and they know you’re their friend - and they know why you’re there.

“You’re not there to enforce necessarily on them, but you’re there to just be a part of their community. We’re not reinventing any wheels, we’re just doing it the logical way, the way it should be done.

“Walking around and being that visible presence, recognising people that we know and catching people in the act - and nipping it in the bud.

“We’ve seen it in Maryport, a 47 per cent reduction in the amount of antisocial behaviour logs. That’s great - that’s 47 per cent less calls that the officer that normally responds has to respond to.

“The different towns need different approaches and different officers and Maryport is one where it’s a very friendly, open town.

“They all talk to me - it’s all by names and as we said, you’ll fight with someone one day and the next day they’ll shake your hand.”

Anti-social behaviour (ASB) is classed as acts that cause intimidation and fear in residents, with examples being vandalism, harassment, anti-social drinking, vehicle abandonment and trespassing.