The newly elected Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner has heralded an over eight per cent drop in crime throughout Cumbria.

David Allen revealed the figures during his Public Accountability Conference on July 16.

It demonstrates significant progress across a range of criminal activities between April 2023 and March 2024.

Notably, 3,227 fewer crimes were recorded, meaning fewer victims of crime compared to the same time last year.

In the same time frame, the number of positive outcome rates also rose from 14.8 per cent to 19.4 per cent.

A positive outcome is when a criminal has been rightly identified and has either faced the appropriate sanction or participated in a restorative justice programme if applicable.

Cybercrime fell by 14.5 per cent, and neighbourhood crimes, including vehicle offences, theft, burglary, and robbery, decreased by 3.2 per cent.

More notably, offences involving firearms almost halved at 46.4 per cent.

Violence with injury offences fell by 6.8 per cent, and even sensitive crimes like sexual offences, including rape, saw a dip.

However, some crime types saw an unfortunate rise.

Drug offences jumped by 45.6 per cent compared to the previous year, despite reaching positive outcomes at the rate of 80.2 per cent.

There was also an increase in homicides and offences involving knives or sharp weapons.

Mr Allen said: "This is my first Public Accountability Conference as Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner with Cumbria Constabulary and I am pleased to see that crime has decreased in the county over the last year by 8.3 per cent."

Anti-social behaviour reports diminished by 6.6 per cent and are expected to decrease further with an extra £1m funding in place to tackle ASB hotspots.

Mr Allen said: "I am the voice of the Cumbrian public within Policing, so I intend to use these public meetings to hold the Chief Constable to account over the concerns of residents."

Chief Constable Rob Carden said: "I am extremely proud of all the positive results the force is achieving.

"This demonstrates the hard work and professionalism of our officers and staff, who are doing their utmost to keep Cumbria safe.

"One of the key ways we are continuing to improve performance is by being more visible in our communities."

The drive to improve continues with several planned efforts, such as the continued rollout of community-beat officers and Operation Enhance, which aims to increase police patrols in notorious hotspots for anti-social behaviour and serious violence.