A NEW sergeant who wants to ensure the community is involved in keeping the peace will be using Twitter to get the message across to the public.

Steve Christy is the new officer in charge of tackling issues in the Kendal Rural area and will have responsibility for Grange, Kirkby Lonsdale, Sedbergh, Milnthorpe and Arnside.

Sgt Christy, who has been serving the Cumbrian community for 20 years and joins the team after a spell as custody sergeant in Kendal police station, will use the social network site Twitter as an interactive way of keeping people up to date.

And he is ready to combat the policing priorities of anti-social behaviour, as well as trying to challenge the fear of crime which exists among residents.

“We are actively tackling the issue with tactics such as removing potentially violent and disorderly individuals from an area to reduce night time anti-social behaviour, crime and violence.”

Mr Christy said he believed section 27 notices were a key tool in modern-day policing.

Officers can use the notices to people aged 16 or over who are acting in an anti-social way, and order them to leave a specific area for up to 48 hours. If the order is ignored, police can arrest them.

Mr Christy said he wanted the public to know that his team were approachable and happy to discuss issues with residents.

He added: “I am looking forward to meeting more people and working with them to address local priorities. I have already attended a number of community meetings and will be attending more in the future, to introduce myself and to ascertain what concerns and issues residents have.”

He added: “I think there is a perception of crime and it might not be as bad as people think so it is important to talk to people about their worries.”

Cumbrian-born Sgt Christy will be supported by Insp Ian Carruthers, Sgts Mark Jacobs and Paul Mellard, and a team of dedicated police constables, specials and PCSOs.