Over 20,000 people following Cumbria Constabulary on Twitter

In 2009, Cumbria Constabulary began using the social media site Twitter to update people with news, appeals and general information. This has gone from strength to strength, with over 20,000 followers.  

Social media is now one of the main ways in which people can receive updates about news and local incidents which affect them. Twitter has been an effective tool for Cumbria Constabulary and has enabled people to receive information from appeals to crime prevention tips directly to their phone, computer or other device.

The Constabulary account has proved to be so popular that extra Twitter accounts were established for local policing teams and specialist units. There are now over 30,000 people following 13 accounts across the County to find out more about policing in their local communities.

Twitter is not the only social media site utilised by Cumbria Constabulary, the force also has a page on Facebook which now has more than 15,000 followers.

Chief Superintendent Steve Johnson said: “Social media plays an important part in our relationship with the public. Our accounts have enabled us to break down barriers to give members of our community direct access to the Constabulary.

“Having 20,000 followers selecting to follow Cumbria Constabulary shows a key demand for people wanting to use Twitter to receive information and updates from the police.

“A vast amount of information is now within the reach of members of our community that have access to social media and we are dedicated to keeping them informed.

“We encourage people to follow us, and have now established Twitter alert’s to immediately deliver important information in the event of a major incident, such as flooding. This will help us in providing a medium that provided timely updates straight away and enable people to take any necessary action and inform friends and family members who could be affected.

“We recognise that not everyone has social media accounts and we will always inform the public in a wide variety of methods. However, social media is proving to be an essential tool for Cumbria Constabulary.”

Follow us

Follow www.twitter.com/cumbriapolice on Twitter. www.facebook.com/cumbriapolice on Facebook.

A list of a the Constabulary’s local policing teams accounts and other social media profiles can be found here

Interested in being a Special Constable? Visit one of the open days

Cumbria Police are holding open days in Barrow and Kendal to incite people to become a Special Constable.

On 18^th January in Kendal and the 25^th January in Barrow between 2pm and 4 pm, Cumbria Police will be holding open afternoons for people to come and speak to current Special Constable’s and Police Officers to get a feel for the role and see if it is something for them. Representatives from the Criminal Investigation Department, Roads Policing Unit and officers from the local Neighbourhood Policing Teams will be available to have a chat with anyone interested in becoming a Special Constable.

Anyone can come along and see what being a Special Constable entails, what the role could do for them and how fulfilling it can be.

Caroline Powney, a Special Constable and who has been helping organise the day’s, said: “We’d be very pleased to see anyone that is considering becoming a Special Constable at either Kendal or Barrow.  It’s a great opportunity to chat to our existing team and find out what the role involves, as well as why they enjoy it and what they’ve got out of it so far.

“We welcome anyone, from any walk of life, who is interested in the Special Constabulary to come along. People who are already working but are looking for another interest, to those who had retired and looking to do something to occupy themselves, the Specials could be for you.”

Inspector Paul Latham, from Kendal Police Station said: “Special constables come from all walk of life bringing  different skills and experience to policing, they make an essential contribution to policing  and their  community within Cumbria. Special Constables support police officers  in delivering a full range of police services, there is no better way to gain a clear insight into the role of a police officer. Having  to cope with the unexpected, think quickly and work as a team is just some aspects of the role. Working as a Special Constable is a varied, challenging and rewarding.”  

Inspector Mike O’Hagan, from Barrow Police Station, added: “The role of Special Constable is a vast , varied but rewarding role. It allows members of the public  to put something back into their respective communities, whilst allowing them to gain life experience. I too would urge people with an interest in a policing career to take this  opportunity to fully understand the role whilst  gaining  a unique insight into the communities we serve.”

If you are interested in becoming a Special Constable, and want an insight into what they do on a daily basis, you can follow them on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/CumbriaSpecials

If you would like more information on becoming a Special Constable or a Police Support Volunteer please visit our website www.cumbria.police.uk

Be prepared - receive Cumbria Police Twitter alerts

In recent weeks, Cumbria has experienced some adverse weather conditions, which called for the public to be informed of road closures, flooded areas and areas which the public were advised not to go.

Social media is now one of the main ways in which people receive updates about the news and local incidents which affect them. Many are already signed up to Cumbria Police Twitter and Facebook accounts.

In a serious incident, it is important that people get the alerts that matter the most, those which could protect them and their loved ones. Cumbria Police are encouraging all users of Twitter to sign up to receive Twitter Alerts, a new feature to receive important information from the police.

The main features are:

-          It’s a free service

-          During a critical incident or crisis, it will enable us to highlight vital and time-critical content.

Chief Superintendent Steve Johnson said: “We provide the public with all kinds of information, from road closures to the sentencing of criminals at court. This alert system will allow us to ensure that those messages that are vital to public safety are seen first.

“When we are dealing with a serious or major incident, such as severe flooding, we will be able to send a Twitter alert and it will immediately be delivered to all subscribers as a text message or a special notification from their Twitter application. This will help to ensure that the most important information is brought to their attention and enable people to take any necessary action and inform friends and family members who could be affected but are not on Twitter.

“It is a free service that will support us in delivering key messages to the public during critical incidents.”

To sign up to Twitter alerts, visit: https://twitter.com/Cumbriapolice/alerts

Twitter alerts can help the public be better prepared and informed, but they do not replace official emergency notification systems or services.

If you are on Twitter or thinking of joining, you can follow Cumbria Police: @CumbriaPolice.

People can also stay up to date will all the latest information from the police at www.cumbria.polcie.uk/latestnews or on Facebook by following the Cumbria Police page at www.facebook.com/cumbriapolice

Barrow Police in ‘Twitter Takeover’ event

Police in Barrow are teaming up with colleagues from emergency services to carry out a 24 hour ‘Twitter Takeover’ on Saturday 29^th June.

Following on from the success of their first Twitter event last year, representatives from Barrow police, Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service and Bay Search and Rescue will tweet about a selection of the call outs they deal with over the course of 24 hours to give the community an insight into the work that goes on around the clock to keep them safe.

Cumbria Constabulary Inspector, Mike O’Hagan, who is in charge of the policing team in Barrow said “The whole aim of this event is to raise awareness of the diverse and complex role of the emergency services in Barrow.

“We hope to highlight the volume of emergency and non-emergency calls that we, and our partners deal with on a daily basis, to help keep local communities safe.

“Our Twitter account, @barrowpolice, now has over 5,000 followers and by publishing basic information about our activity over a 24 hour period, we hope to encourage more local people to log onto Twitter to see what work goes on around the clock.

‘’Followers of Barrow Police on Twitter will be aware that whilst the account provides a valuable source for community information, the informal nature of some of the tweets we send out reaches out to an online generation and keeps followers engaged.”

The agencies participating in the event will use #barrow999 as part of any Twitter posts during the period. To log onto the web chat, go to: www.cumbria.police.uk/barrow

Barrow police team up with community partners to host Twitter ‘takeover’ day

Police in Barrow are teaming up with colleagues from emergency services and other partner agencies to launch a 24 hour ‘Twitter Takeover’ this weekend.

Throughout Saturday 27 October, representatives from Barrow police, Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service, the Ambulance Service, the Air Ambulance, NHS and Bay Search and Rescue will tweet about a selection of the call outs they deal with to give the community an insight into the work that goes on around the clock to keep them safe.

The event will run for 24 hours between 7am on Saturday 27 October and 7am on Sunday 28 October and will be used to engage with the community and distribute key safety advice.

A multiagency web chat will also take place where the local community can log on and direct questions to the team.

Cumbria Constabulary Inspector, Mike O’Hagan, who is in charge of the policing team in Barrow said “The whole aim of this event is to raise awareness of the diverse and complex role of the emergency services in Barrow.

“We hope to highlight the volume of emergency and non-emergency calls that we, and our partners deal with on a daily basis, to help keep local communities safe.

“Our Twitter account, @barrowpolice, now has over 2,900 followers and by publishing basic information about our activity over a 24 hour period, we hope to encourage more local people to log onto Twitter to see what work goes on around the clock.

“We will use the event to provide relevant crime prevention advice to communities and would encourage as many people as possible to log onto a web chat that will take place between 5pm and 7pm on Saturday where representatives from the Health service, Fire and Rescue and Police will be available to respond to any questions the public may have.

“This is the first time that we have done an event of this nature in Barrow and we hope that the local community supports us by following us on Twitter and take the opportunity to speak directly to local agencies via the web chat – without having to leave the comfort of their homes.”

Stuart Dolan, Barrow Station Manager for Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service, said “We’re always looking at new ways to engage with our local community and Twitter is becoming increasingly popular.

“Taking part in this ‘Twitter Takeover’ is a good way for us to give people a flavour of some of the incidents we attend and the type of work we get involved in.

"On Saturday morning the @barrowfire Twitter account will go live, and we will use this account to tweet out our messages and information. The aim is to get as many followers as possible so that our key safety messages can be seen and shared with all of the community.”

The agencies participating in the event will use #barrow999 as part of any Twitter posts during the period. To log onto the web chat, go to: www.cumbria.police.uk/barrow.

Newest and cutest recruits arrive at Cumbria Constabulary

Cumbria Constabulary will welcome their newest, youngest and fluffiest recruits next week. The three German Shepherd puppies, who are 8 weeks old, will arrive from the Isle of Man to start their training as police dogs for Cumbria Constabulary.

The pups were donated from the dog breeding programme at the Isle Of Man Constabulary and join the existing 12 General Purpose police dogs, 12 drugs dogs and explosives dogs currently assisting the fight against crime in Cumbria.

For the next six months, the new recruits will work alongside their handlers to form a bond, socialise with a diverse range of people and gain experience in a variety of environments and locations.

The pups, two female and one male, are replacing three police dogs which are all due to retire.

PC Steve Jones, PC Simon Hodgkinson and PC Jonathan Chappell will each receive one of the new pups and will start their training as soon as they arrive.

Sergeant Mark Yielder, from the Dog Unit at Cumbria Constabulary, said: “The next six months is all about familiarising the dogs with as many new people, places and experiences as possible, so that they are able to deal with any situation they’re faced with when they start work.

“We spend a lot more time playing with the dogs than you would a family pet, and rather than fluffy animals and balls, these dogs have sets of keys and tools as toys, so that they get used to the kinds of materials and objects they will be expected to search for at crime scenes in the future.

“They are also exposed to loud noises by playing recordings of thunder, lightening and firework noises on a stereo so that they get used to the unexpected, and grow into bold working dogs.”

It will be at least a year before the pups begin training in earnest, and around 18 months before they start working, giving them the time they need to grow in confidence and strength.

Once trained, the dogs will be used during public order incidents, to locate missing people, search crime scenes and hunt for offenders.

Sergeant Ian Kelly, from the Isle of Man Police, said: “It is great to see these dogs going to a force which we have such a good working relationship with. We work closely with our colleagues in Cumbria and attend training courses held by them and have our dogs independently licensed by their instructors when we can. We mutually assist each other in searches, for example, they helped us with security searches last September when we hosted the Commonwealth Youth Games and we have assisted with searches for Royal visits”.

“The parents of these pups are both working police dogs within the Isle of Man. Dad is called Bodie, aged three and a half years and their mother, Saxon is two and a half and both are pedigree Kennel Club registered with lines going back to Slovakia and Belgium. The pups should hopefully adapt to the role of a police dog, although nothing is ever guaranteed with puppies.”

Members of the public will be able to follow the progress of the pups on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/cumbriapolice and Inspector Matthew Kennerley has launched a new Twitter site: www.twitter.com/policedogunit  which will provide updates on the puppies progression, information on the Dogs Unit, handlers, training and the incidents they attend.

Details of a competition to guess the name of one of the puppies will be added to Cumbria Police’s Facebook page and the new Dogs Unit Twitter site. The prize will be a visit to the Dog Unit at Cumbria Constabulary where they will meet the puppies and the police officers who work there.

Problems with our Twitter account

Weve just had to delete our CHNMT Twitter account as we had some kind of virus sending out relentless rubbish about taking IQ tests.

Apologies to all who were following us on Twitter. We'll be back with a new/clean/virus free Twitter account next week.

Once again apologies and we strongly suggest if you get anything from people about taking IQ tests that you delete it - even if it's from someone you know. It seems to be happening across various platforms such as Twitter, Facebook etc.