There was a fantastic turnout in Camborne last Friday for the switching on of the Christmas lights. Local schools from the Camborne area were all out in force for the lantern parade and the streets were packed. It is good to see people respond in such numbers after a couple of years where the event was unable to go ahead due to Covid and, and although it is a difficult time for many financially, Christmas is a time when people should come together at occasions like this.
Earlier on Friday afternoon, I met the local neighborhood policing team to discuss some of the issues they are encountering in the town and did a walkabout with them. We discussed some of the ongoing challenges associated with drug and alcohol abuse and street drinking. Although Camborne is by no means the worst affected town in Cornwall and Cornwall as a whole has fewer such problems than other parts of the country, issues of anti-social behavior linked to alcohol abuse have been a persistent issue raised by residents and shop keepers over the years. Often there are a handful of individuals at any one time who can create a wider perception. Our police have a difficult task resolving a complex issue but have developed successful tactics over the years and working closely with other agencies.
A major part of the solution is to reduce homelessness and in particular rough sleeping. Everyone has episodes in life that take them to a low ebb and for some, the lowest ebb is to lose everything and end up on the streets. Cornwall has been particularly successful in recent years at getting rough sleepers into temporary supported accommodation, which is the crucial first step. The next step is to try to help people deal with any drug or alcohol addiction they have, and once progress is made on that front, help or counseling to assist with mental health comes next. Often the trigger for an addiction is a trauma in one's life. Finally, having moved someone into accommodation, helped deal with their addictions, and addressed any underlying mental health condition, the final step is to try to assist them to get back into work and a fulfilling life.
It is only when you consider the full sequence of steps needed to try to help people who find themselves on the street, that you realise how difficult it actually is. To make it work the Police, Cornwall Council, Housing Associations, and mental health charities all have to work closely together. They don't succeed every time, but often they do, and when they do, they turn around someone's life.
As a rural peninsula, the challenges that we face in Cornwall are often more complex and I welcome the Government’s commitment to delivering 20,000 more police officers by spring 2023. This means 498 additional officers for Cornwall, bringing the total to 3610 which would be the highest in the force's history which is welcome. However, we also need to ensure that community policing and the vital role of PCSOs in providing presence, visibility, and engagement are recognised and valued. I think this is the element that Devon and Cornwall Police need to turn their attention to, and it is one of the issues I will be raising with the Police and Crime Commissioner.
