On 13th August 2025 The Town Council organised a meeting with Cumbria's Police & Crime Commissioner Dave Allen to discuss local concerns around policing in our area.
The Town Council consulted residents and created questions drawn from concerns expressed by Councillors, residents and a community Facebook Survey results showing residents’ key concerns (152 votes): 21% illegal parking, 19% fly camping & littering, 15% drugs, 15% antisocial behaviour linked to alcohol, 13% lack of a local police presence on our street, 10% antisocial behaviour linked to vandalism, 7% lack of a local police station.
The response to our questions are shown below.
The Town Council consulted residents and created questions drawn from concerns expressed by Councillors, residents and a community Facebook Survey results showing residents’ key concerns (152 votes): 21% illegal parking, 19% fly camping & littering, 15% drugs, 15% antisocial behaviour linked to alcohol, 13% lack of a local police presence on our street, 10% antisocial behaviour linked to vandalism, 7% lack of a local police station.
The response to our questions are shown below.
Attending were: David Allen, Cumbria Police & Crime Commissioner (Note: Police are operationally independent of the Police and Crime Commissioner. The Police and Crime Commissioner employs the fire service staff, but not the police. So, the Police and Crime Commissioner cannot commander the police to act but provides oversight), Police Inspector Ross Woods (South Lakes Area) and Chief Superintendent Dave Pattinson - Westmorland and Furness Area Commander.
Community Safety and Crime
1. What is being done to tackle anti-social behaviour, especially during tourist season?
e.g., late-night noise, public drinking. The issue is of such a scale due to changing demographic of visitors and concentration of licenced premises in Bowness that for the 2nd year W&BTC received grants to fund Street Support Officers (SSOs) - local security staff - to patrol on summer evenings. (See separate Data sheet)
Local officer, Sgt Becky Hunter reported a change in the number and capacity of licensed premises in Bowness and change in demographics, the high number of holiday lets so visitors can stay out later than in the previous days of guest houses and hotels predominating.
There has been national recognition and funding for the issue of violence against girls and women. Funding has been put towards the Bowness welfare hub on Saturday evenings (statistically the busiest night for incidents) staffed by special constables and local licenced premises through Bar Watch who provide funding for a Tactical Security staff member.
The Police appreciate the work the Town Council has done organising the Bowness Street Support Officers and the useful intelligence they provide. Inspector Woods noted the positive working relationship between Tactical Security Staff and the Police particular with the Welfare Hub.
Operation Regulate is a dedicated police operation focused on the night time economy. There has been work with Licensing on underage drinkers, including test purchases. An in-depth look is made at all new licensing applications Operation Vigilance is also focused on violence against girls and women, and involves plain clothes special constables.
Operation Enhance started 18 months ago. There's been a 25% decline in serious violence in the area. The police adjusted the criteria so Bowness could be included in operation this year recognising that the additional police presence had been effective.
Police are working with homes and businesses to use captured CCTV such as ring doorbells. Comparing our CCTV to the national database, it enables shoplifters from other counties, for example, to be identified.
The Town Council explained their long standing request to Westmorland & Furness Council Licensing Department from April 2023 for a Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) for Bowness and requested the support of Police and P&CC in moving the topic forward so a decision could be made by the Licensing Committee.
Dave is going to raise the Bowness Cumulative Impact Assessment at the Community Safety partnership meeting.
2. How are police addressing drug-related issues in the area? Reports from SSOs of a rise in drug related incidents particularly drug driving, blatant approaches to hospitality staff from visitors wanting to buy drugs and finds of drug paraphernalia in the toilets of bars and pubs.) Police continue to utilise a number of ways of addressing drugs and drug related issues. There has been an increase in policing activity and visibility in the Windermere and Bowness area. There has been a significant uplift in the number of stop searches taking place when people have been suspected to be in possession of controlled drugs. This mirrors a wider pattern in the force with around 20% of these being positive searches with relevant items located.
All Roads Policing and Neighbourhood Police officers are trained in the use of roadside drugs wipes which are routinely used on drivers committing offences or driving in an anti-social manner. Arrests for drug driving now outnumber drink driving arrests.
Community Intelligence is key to driving Police activity in relation to drug supply. In the last 12 months there have been at least four Warrants and property searches carried out by Police at addresses in Windermere and Bowness.
Policing Visibility and Resources
3. Despite action to recruit more staff across Cumbria, in Windermere & Bowness there is still a lack of resources so staff are frequently called away to incidents outside our area. How many staff and of what level should we have in Windermere and how many vacancies are there and how will they be filled? There is a lack of a visible presence locally from both PCSOs and Police Officers.
Dave Allen agrees that police on the streets are important. £20 million was taken out of Cumbria Police's budget in the preceding years before he took over. People need to report everything. If they don't, they won't get staffed if the police don't know about it. That's absolutely crucial.
There are a total of 1393 police, including CID in the area, they've been granted 1.7 million in funding for an additional 46 neighbourhood policing team members. There were currently 59 across the county in January 2025 on the streets. The funding came through in April and 46 people will be trained and on the streets in January 2026. There are new PCSOs and civilian staff in the back office to free up police from the paperwork. Police recognise the importance of community intelligence, evidence and partnership with the licensing authority.
4.What action is being taken to mitigate recruitment challenges due to the high cost of housing in areas like Windermere in relation to Police pay?
Housing costs aren’t an issue for staff. While there are roles that still need filling, recruitment is going well.
Retention is a key issue, as neighbouring counties such as Lancashire and Northumberland are also recruiting, so some staff have transferred for personal reasons. Places like BAE, Sellafield, Heysham and United Utilities are paying bonuses in relation to recruitment and retention so some Police Officers are lost to these alternative careers. Cumbria Police are moving office staff to the front line, changing recruitment to people with more life experience, not just a degree in order to improve retention of the staff they recruit and train.
Traffic and Road Safety
5. What is being done to tackle illegal parking and dangerous driving in the town? Illegal parking is a key area which impacts the daily lives of locals. The places where it occurs on a sunny weekend are very well known but rarely enforced in relation to the scale of the issue - despite Glebe Road having the most parking tickets issued by W&FC for the second year in a row. Traffic, road safety, enforcement and prevention are important. The Police work with Westmorland & Furness Council Highways team on issues such as yellow lines on Rayrigg Road. Illegally parked car owners have complained there are no signs, but they aren't needed because the rules around double white lines are clear. This is enforced regularly, for example on the 30th of July, 97 tickets were issued in on one stretch of Rayrigg Road.
Tourism and Seasonal Pressure
6. How is policing adapted during peak tourist seasons and events? Residents feel services are stretched or deprioritised. Police anticipate and plan ahead with their resources. Higher levels of resources per shift are put in over the summer with things like Appleby Horse fair and events in Ulverston and Windermere. August 12th, the day before the meeting, was the busiest for a long time.
14 to 15 million people visit our area, and Police are not funded for them, just for our declining population. However, incidents are increasing, and Police are also funded by incidents as well as by population, which is why it is so very, very important to report everything.
7. Are tourists being held accountable for offences like littering, fly camping, or disorderly conduct? There seems to be no one with the power or staff to deal with the issues around camping and BBQs which occur in the evenings and weekend, this is extremely frustrating to residents who see people getting away with such behaviours and leaving a mess which they clean up.
Dave Allen recognises that this is an issue of serious concern to residents. Offenders can be charged with disorderly conduct if it is reported. Littering and wild camping are not necessarily a police matter if on private property. Volunteers are cleaning up and are understandably getting fed up.
The strategic visitor management group is looking at the issues around enforcement and information education. Cumberland have a public space protection order and enforcement team, but it's only 100 pound fine per group. They have introduced some restorative justice, such as getting a group of young people to do litter picking in this week who were found making a mess camping the previous week.
There needs to be both education and enforcement. Without public space protection orders, it would be civil trespass. The festival culture is making people think that fly camping and littering is acceptable behaviour and they need educating that it is not.
8. Who is responsible for enforcing the existing rules and potential future extended PSPO? Without enforcement there is very little hope that tourists will take any notice of the PSPO given that they are already ignoring the no fires and no camping signs now. The PSPO is the responsibility of Westmorland and Furness Council. A proposed PSPO which covers these issues is currently subject to public consultation which is requirement ahead of any implementation. Enforcement is primarily the responsibility of the Council but powers can be delegated to the Police when it is in place.
Youth Engagement and Prevention
9. We have seen the positive work done locally with the mini police in our primary schools. What programmes are in place to engage older young people and prevent youth crime or disorder? The area near Windermere Library had been a target for antisocial behaviour such as a fire in the public toilets we run and anti-Semitic graffiti near the Lake District Holocaust Project in the library building. Dave Allen encouraged Councillors to spread the word to youth clubs and other groups about the Police and Crime Commissioners Community Fund. It is funded by money recovered from Criminals operating in the County. They offer grants up to £2500 to youth groups to support engaging activities for young people. The local Sea Scouts recently got funding for equipment, for securing their base at Millerground and for life jackets, helmets and paddles.
Communication and Transparency
10. How will you ensure the public is kept informed about crime trends and police activity in Windermere? Including live updates such as road closures due to traffic accidents or during extreme weather like the snowstorm of 2023 which trapped many drivers in our Town. The Neighbourhood Policing Pledge has been launched stating that every locality in South Lakes will have a named beat officer. Police are organising biannual meetings via CALC. There is a newsletter for South Lakes police that people can subscribe to. Crime statistics are available on the Cumbria Police Force website. Social media is also used and has recently been very positive. The South Lakes area Facebook page has a lot of followers and tries to provide a mix of relevant themes.
11. How can residents better report non-emergency concerns like fly camping and be sure they are taken seriously? At the moment, the Town Council gets lots of reports as people don’t know whether it is the police, W&FC, National Trust or LDNPA they need to report to. Having a single point for all tourist nuisance issues would be welcome, particularly if there was anyone to respond to the issues. It is understandable that there is confusion around who to report matters to given that depending when, where and to what extent issues are occurring can change who is responsible for dealing with them. The ability for the public to report concerns is being actively discussed at the Strategic Visitor Management Group with a view to ensuring that any reporting process is made as easy and accessible as possible.
RSS Feed