Officers from the Eden Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) were out in Penrith Town Centre on Friday evening (14th February) alongside partners from Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service and the DVSA as part of an operation to educate drivers and target anti-social driving.
As part of the operation, officers and partners were stopping drivers passing through the town centre to conduct vehicle checks.
Any drivers found to be committing any driving offences were given prohibition notices by Driving Standards and were given advice around safe driving.
One person was arrested on suspicion of possession of a Class B drug – cannabis, and drug driving.
Officers then carried out proactive patrols in areas in the town identified as hotspots for anti-social driving. No further issues were identified; however, officers will continue to patrol hotspot areas for any ASB driving activity as part of Operation Enhance and will be out on Penrith’s streets to identify any suspects who continue to commit anti-social driving offences.
Sergeant Phil Hall, Eden NPT, said: “This operation was all about educating drivers around the risks of not maintaining their vehicles.
“During the night, four prohibition notices were handed out to drivers for issues with their tyres, exhausts and air bags.
“It is a driver’s responsibility to make sure their vehicles are safe and legal to drive.”
Sgt Hall continued: “Residents in Penrith have reported concerns regarding the dangers that nuisance drivers pose to other road users and pedestrians.
“Our officers remain vigilant, and anyone caught committing these offences will be challenged and could face arrest or having their vehicle seized.”
Cumbria’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, David Allen, said: “It’s vital that we keep our vehicles maintained so that we can keep not only ourselves safe but also other road users and pedestrians safe.
“Partnership working is necessary to continually improve the safety of our county so I’m incredibly pleased to see Police, Fire and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency work together to stop vehicles in Penrith and check that they are suitable for the road.
“I was also pleased to see that we were able to stop someone driving under the influence of drugs - Cumbria Constabulary has a zero-tolerance policy against driving under the influence and these pro-active stops clearly highlight that if you drive under the influence of drugs, alcohol or any other illegal substance, you will be caught.
“I would urge all drivers in Cumbria to check their vehicles to ensure that they are road safe – if you are unsure, most garages will provide a check for you as part of a service.
“It is a community effort to keep our county safe so let’s work together and protect Cumbria’s roads.”
Operation Enhance is funded after Cumbria’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner secured an additional £1m of extra funding from the Government’s Hotspot Response Fund to target anti-social behaviour (ASB) and serious violence in hotspot areas across the county.
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