More bobbies on the beat in Barrow

Operation Sawfish launched by Barrow Police has been running for two weeks as part of a new initiative to tackle crime in hotspot areas.

It was also created in response to feedback from the community that claimed they did not see enough officers out on the beat.

So far it is difficult to measure how successful the scheme has been, but the police are currently looking to staff the operation until Spring 2019.

However, on one operation on Tuesday 11 December, they were able to assist a vulnerable man home as well as carrying out high-visibility foot patrols through Barrow Town Centre, Hindpool, Ormsgill, Barrow Island, Newbarns and Risedale. They were also able to attend keeping safe sessions, a Christmas Fayre and a multi-agency Street Safe programme.

On another, the team attended Brisbane Park Infant Schools nativity, apprehended a shop lifter at Tesco and carried out lots of high-visibility foot patrols on Walney in the afternoon.

Sergeant Sara Seath said: “Operation Sawfish follows the Neighbourhood policing guidelines for targeted activity in the identified hotspot areas.

"The current hotspots that have been identified though statistical analysis based on calls for service and a prediction of future trends highlighted Barrow Town Centre, Ormsgill and Barrow Island as areas to focus our efforts.

"It is too early to say how effective it has been in relation to reducing anti-social behaviour and crime, but we’ve had really positive feedback from our community on twitter and Facebook about the operation."

To stay informed on where the team have been and how they are doing you can follow Barrow Police on either Facebook or twitter.