Police reveal how busy they were over the festive fortnight

POLICE have revealed just how busy they were kept over the Christmas-New Year period.
Between Sunday, December 20 and Saturday January 2, the force control centre received 3,797 emergency calls – of which 95.7 per cent were answered within 10 seconds.
On Christmas Day, 294 calls were received while on the busiest night of the year – New Year’s Eve – 356 calls were received.
The calls related to a variety of incidents across the county, including road traffic collisions, anti-social behaviour and burglary to name a few.
Assistant chief constable Mark Roberts (pictured) said: “Officers and staff worked extremely hard over the festive period, reinforcing our commitment that we’re here for you, when and where you need us.
“Over the festive period we’ve been issuing crime prevention advice, personal safety advice, cracked down on wanted offenders and provided extra patrols to deal with incidents that have arisen across the county.”
The force’s “Blue Christmas” campaign, which ran from November to the beginning of January, focussed on a number of key tops, including home safety and not “gifting” items to thieves.
ACC Roberts added: “We have seen a decrease in the number of burglary incidents that were reported to us over the festive period which is pleasing to see.”
Blue Christmas also saw the force taking offenders off the streets.
Over the two weeks, police arrested 830 people across the county.
ACC Roberts said: “Here in Cheshire we’ve bucked the national trend with regards to arrests. The national trend has shown a decrease, whereas our proactive policing approach has seen an increase in our arrest figures.
“I’m very impressed with the policing response and want to thank officers and staff for their hard work and commitment to the people of Cheshire. I also want to thank the public, for their continued efforts, by heeding safety advice and enabling us to help you when and where required.”