NEARLY one third of Cumbria's top 30 crime hot spots are in Barrow and Millom, figures show.

Barrow's busiest shopping street Dalton Road comes out as the third most likely street for crime to happen in the county - with thefts from shops dramatically bumping up the statistics in the partly pedestrianised road.

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Cavendish Street makes the top five as Barrow's central nightlife zone with its bars, pubs and takeaways recorded 91 offences of violence against the person. In fact, the assaults make up nearly two-thirds of the total crimes reported in the street.

A Freedom of Information request to Cumbria Constabulary revealed the current 30 crime hot spots in the county by taking into consideration all cases in a 12-month period between October 19 2015 and October 18 2016.

Superintendent Matt Kennerley, from Cumbria Police's uniformed operations section, said the force is aware of which areas need more resources than others.

"We regularly assess crime levels and identify trends," he said.

"For example if there are particular premises that are being flagged up then we will work with them, sometimes bringing in partners like the local authority and speaking with door staff.

"We also have a CCTV system that is used for targeting certain areas. Some of the areas on that list will have coverage for that exact reason."

Supt Kennerley added that if a particular shop was being targeted then the force's community safety team might be brought in to advise owners on how to reduce crime.


HMP Haverigg. North Lane in Millom, which is home to HM Prison Haverigg, also made the top 30 list, with violence against the person coming out on top in the general crime categorisation.

There were, however, 11 recorded sexual offences in North Lane and it comes as the Evening Mail reported in September there had been a sharp increase in the number of inmate-on-inmate sexual assaults at the sprawling Category C prison site.

Problems at HMP Haverigg saw the prison population reduced following intervention by the National Offender Management Service last year.

The action taken by police involving the sexual and physical assaults was called Operation Knightsbridge.


Duke Street, Barrow. Other streets in Barrow to make the top 10 on the list included Walney Road (joint seventh with 103 crimes) and Duke Street (joint ninth with 98 crimes).

Dalton Lane, which is home to the site of Furness General Hospital, recorded 83 crimes, with the majority being violence against the person, criminal damage and theft.

Abbey Road, which is the longest road in Barrow, Rawlinson Street, which consists of a mixture of residential and commerical properties and Portland Walk, a popular shopping district in the town centre, were the other places to feature in Cumbria's top 30 crime locations.

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Supt Kennerley said: "What we tend to find is that it can be down to one or two individuals or families that cause those levels of disorder.

"What we do is target those individuals and work together with partners like housing associations.


Cavendish Street, Barrow. "There's a range of tactics to try and solve the problems, we can go down the prosecution route if it's appropriate but we'll also look at other options such as tenancy agreements and anti-social behaviour orders."

Across the nine streets in Barrow and Millom which were represented in the top 30 list, there was a total of 896 crimes reported.

The number one spot for crime in Cumbria is in Botchergate in Carlisle city centre.

The only other towns represented in the list are Whitehaven, Workington and Maryport.