Congleton's policing ward had lowest arrest rate over Christmas
By Alex Greensmith 9th Jan 2023
Congleton ranked last for the amount of arrests in their policing ward over Christmas.
The figures, which include nearby towns like Sandbach and Alsager, revealed just 6.67% of all of Cheshire Police's arrests were in the Congleton Local Policing Unit.
Officers arrested 1,797 people across Cheshire as part of a policing operation to keep people safe throughout the Christmas period – An increase of 23% in comparison to the previous year's operation.
Just 120 were arrested in the Congleton Local Policing area, and given that towns such as Middlewich and the aforementioned two are included in Congleton's policing ward, it is safe to presume that Congleton itself saw arrests in just the double figures during the festive season.
A Freedom of Information request has been submitted by Nub News for a breakdown of these 120 Congleton crimes, which saw Congleton Local Policing Unit rank ninth out of the nine areas covered by Cheshire Police.
The operation saw officers targeting perpetrators of anti-social behaviour, violence against women and girls, domestic abuse and drink and drug driving – with a particular focus on night-time economy hot spot areas with high impact policing activity throughout December.
Extra measures were put in place across the county and high visibility operations were carried out which saw officers work closely with partner agency staff to make sure law-abiding people could enjoy their Christmas safely.
Officers were also out stopping drivers as part of a crackdown on drink and drug driving, and as a result 166 people were arrested for drink driving and 130 people arrested for drug driving across the county.
The Special Constabulary volunteered a total of 3,154 hours throughout the Christmas period, supporting frontline neighbourhood policing and targeted operations. Specials assisted with or arrested more than 100 people for a variety of offences including drink and drug driving.
Head of local policing for Cheshire Constabulary, Chief Superintendent Peter Crowcroft, said: "The visibility of our officers – and the action that was taken against anyone intent on committing crime or causing harm – will have reassured our communities that we were working hard to keep them safe over the Christmas period.
"The message was clear this year 'we will not stand for anyone intent on causing harm in our communities – and while the majority of people enjoyed their Christmas safely and responsibly, some people decided to ignore our warning and commit crime regardless.
"They were dealt with accordingly and they have no-one to blame but themselves.
"Rest assured our efforts to keep people safe and keep criminals off our streets doesn't end with Christmas.
"We will continue to take robust action against anyone who believes they are above the law and make them face the consequences of their actions all year round.
"I also want to say a massive thank you to all the officers, staff and volunteers who worked tirelessly over the Christmas period - some who missed spending time with their own families - to keep the people of Cheshire safe."
The data began as Christmas party season began on December 1.
Breakdown of arrests per Local Policing Unit (ranked)
Ninth: Congleton - 120
Eigth: Widnes - 123
Seventh: Ellesmere Port - 128
Sixth: Runcorn - 136
Fifth: Northwich - 145
Fourth: Macclesfield - 191
Third: Crewe - 212
Second: Chester - 285
First: Warrington - 318
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