More than 200 arrests in Cumbria over festive period
Police say they were active in keeping people safe
Last updated 7th Jan 2026
Police say they've made more than 200 arrests during the festive period, as part of efforts to keep people across Cumbria safe throughout Christmas and New Year.
347 stop searches were also carried out.
Activity included targeting drink and drug driving under Operation Limit, VAWG (violence against women and girls), personal safety, retail and targeting wanted people.
As part of Operation Limit, officers stopped 1,479 motorists as part of a proactive approach to road safety. In total 165 people were arrested for driving offences, of whom 50 were arrested for drink driving and 94 for drug driving.
The force says visibility within town and city centre areas was increased throughout the month, as officers were out on foot to keep people safe, specifically in nightlife areas where people were celebrating the festive period.
As part of preventative work, officers conducted 355 licensing visits to premises across the county. These visits were conducted to support licensees in collective efforts to keep their customers safe.
Throughout December, the Fraud Prevent & Protect Team were out across Cumbria as part of the force's ‘Don't Make Their Christmas Campaign’ to provide advice and guidance to the public. An advertising campaign ran across Carlisle and Barrow on bus stops throughout December, containing advice to protect against fraud, focussing on the message: “Don’t be taken in by a friendly voice. Phone fraudsters use trust to steal.”
A campaign also ran to highlight action taken to prevent Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), with the force utilising bus advertisements and a van with a digital screen.
Assistant Chief Constable, Dave Stalker, said: “Over the festive season our officers and staff have worked incredibly hard to keep our communities safe.
“This period is often the busiest time of the year and the results highlighted are just a small part of the work our officers and staff do.
“Whilst we have a visible presence in our communities, there is a lot of unseen work to keep people safe and target those involved in criminality.
“Increased staffing over the festive period has meant more officers on patrol and specific operation carried out to target those committing offences.
“We also look at how we can prevent criminality by engaging with local businesses and communities, as well as running public awareness campaigns to provide people with advice.
“Our work does not stop here and will continue into 2026, but we continue to need the public's help to provide the vital information to us to investigate and prevent crime. By contacting us with information you are making an important contribution which may lead to a criminal being locked up, a victim securing justice or our policing service being able to prevent offence before they have happened.”