New West Cumbrian police inspector wants to engage more with the public

Insp Rachel Gale has taken on the role following a revamp of neighbourhood policing - with smaller areas being given their own leader.

She is keen to create links with communities and is looking into setting up online forums where people can have their say.

"I want to get an overall view of the whole of Allerdale and its problems so we know where to best use our resources," said Insp Gale, 32, who has served in the police for 12 years, mainly in West Cumbria.

"We will never be going back to the level of community policing there was many years ago but we don't want the level of service to our communities to decrease, so we have to be more creative."

The mother-of-two admitted that one of her challenges was "reassuring people that we still do care".

She is aware that some incidents are not reported and hopes to change this.

"A lot of people are busy or perhaps do not feel confident coming to the police desk.

"They may prefer to send a message through Facebook.

"I want to get this dialogue going.

"We need to review the ways we engage with communities."

She also hopes to build relationships with other partners, such as councils, housing associations, children's services and the third sector.

"We want to help the communities to help themselves."

Inspector Gale, who is based at Cockermouth Police Station, is well aware of the diverse nature of her patch.

She said: "I want every community to get the same level of service but appreciate they have different problems.

"The problems in rural villages are very different from those faced by towns.

"This is why we have to maximise engagement with the communities and appreciate their issues."

Insp Gale will have two sergeants, three police constables and some PCSOs. Another sergeant will work across Allerdale and Copeland.

She said: "As long as we get the support from the community and our partners I believe there are enough tools out there that we can use to get results."