- In December 2020 Simon Fell MP announced that he had received assurances from the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cumbria, Peter McCall, that the local neighbourhood policing team had plans to have a dedicated community Police Officer for the Dalton area (Dalton, Newton, Askam, Ireleth, Lindal and Marton) as soon as possible.
- This week, Cumbria Police and Peter McCall have announced that Dalton will have its own dedicated Police Constable effective immediately.
- WPC Hannah While is the newly selected Police Constable for Dalton.
A Furness community is set to welcome a new dedicated police officer. Cumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Peter McCall, announced this week that WPC Hannah While is to begin patrolling the streets of Dalton, Askam, Ireleth, Newton, Lindal and Marton with immediate effect.
The announcement comes on the back of a pledge made by both Mr McCall and the MP for Barrow and Furness, Simon Fell, in December last year.
At that time, after a spate of reports of anti-social behaviour in the town, Mr Fell stated that he had received confirmation from the Commissioner that the Dalton area was a priority for local police and in common with other smaller towns across the county was being considered by the police for additional resource.
Commenting, Simon said:
“Getting more police officers onto the streets of Furness is one of the people’s priorities. In Dalton, residents tell me that they’re fed up of petty crime and anti-social behaviour, and they want to see a community police officer back on their streets.
“Through working together with local councillors in Dalton, Peter McCall, and local residents’ groups we have made the case for the Dalton area and I’m delighted that Cumbria Constabulary has taken this seriously, and appointed WPC While. Hannah will make an enormous difference in helping to cut crime and keep people safe.”
Mr McCall said:
“Throughout the time that I have been the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cumbria a lot has been achieved. Record level of police officers, since 2016 with 143more officers with another 60 or so to come. New deployment bases have been established right across the county including the Ulverston Blue Light Hub, with officers working in strong partnerships to support victims with other organisations, charities and community groups. This all demonstrates that working together is effective, but there is always more to do and we cannot take our foot off the pedal.
“I appreciate that we can’t always deliver resources as quickly as residents might sometimes prefer, and importantly this must be led by Operational requirements.
“Residents of the Dalton area can now be reassured that, together with the Police, we have listened and responded to your calls for safer streets.
“I would ask residents to play your part in reporting any concerns or information regarding crime in the area to the Police, so that they can act swiftly on it to keep our streets safe.”
In a joint statement, Barrow Borough Councillors for Dalton North Sam Ronson, Daniel Edwards and Ben Shirley said:
“As Councillors for Dalton North we welcome this news and thank Simon Fell and Peter McCall for their work in making this happen. We have been working together with the local communities in Dalton, Askam, Lindal and Marton and the local Police to tackle anti-social behaviour and crime in our area. We look forward to working with Police Constable Hannah While, and we extend a warm welcome to her to our area.”
