Yuletide season is upon us

The countdown is on, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas and Santa Claus is not the only one preparing for his busiest time of year.

Humberside Police officers and staff are also gearing up for their busiest time of year as the festive season gets into full swing and certain offences do tend to increase.

Throughout December and into early January, you can expect to see an increased police presence as they look to spread some festive cheer, engaging with the public, and keeping everyone on the right side of Santa’s list.

As part of this, they will also be supporting the Home Office initiative, Winter of Action, a Safer Streets Summer Initiative shining a spotlight on the teams that sit at the very core of policing.

This summer of intensified activity saw their Neighbourhood Policing Officers patrol over 5800 miles – that’s the equivalent of walking top to bottom of the United Kingdom 10 times! Or, if you imagine 4143 Humber Bridges side by side, that’s the distance they travelled, spending 3299 hours out and about from June to September alone.

As a result of this activity, they have seen a 26.4% reduction in ASB incidents over the last three months compared to September, October and November 2024. And their work doesn’t stop here.

Leading on policing the festive period this year is Superintendent Caroline Andrews. She said: “Like all emergency services, Christmas is one of our busiest times of the year. As the nights draw in and excitement for the big day builds, we tend to see an increase in reports of certain crimes.

“The activity our communities can expect to see over this period is daily business for our officers, but aligning this with the national Home Office Winter of Action initiative keeps up the momentum achieved over the summer, whilst adapting to seasonal pressures in town centres such as busier retail activity, festive events, increased socialising, heightened risk of shop theft, crime and disorder as part of the night-time economy, and violence against women and  girls.

“Sadly, for some Christmas is not a happy time of year and throughout December we particularly see an increase in domestic abuse, violent crime, and sexual offences.

“Reports of burglary also increase as opportunistic thieves look to target gifts under the tree. We also get more reports of drink driving as designated drivers think they can get away with having ‘just one more drink’.

“Cases of fraud also increase over the festive period, particularly in November in the lead up to Black Friday and Cyber Monday when people are getting their Christmas gift bargains in early. However, we would encourage people to remain vigilant even as we move into December.

“As a part of our promise to keep you safe, we’ll also be keeping you up to date as we continue to take criminals off the streets and look to provide reassurance that what you’re most concerned about is being dealt with by the appropriate and specialist teams.

“If you are heading out to enjoy a seasonal tipple or two, please be assured that our teams will be out and about, both in uniform and plain clothes, working with partners to make sure it remains the most wonderful time of the year.

“I ask that you please report any suspicious activity to our officers when you see them out and about, so that we can investigate and take steps to protect anyone in need of help.

“You can also learn more about your local policing team and what their priorities are for your area by heading to the homepage of our website and popping your postcode into the ‘Find Your Area’ section at the top.

“If there is a crime ongoing or it is an emergency you can also call us on 999.

“Alternatively, to report an incident which is not currently in progress, raise concerns, or give us information about criminal activity happening in your area please contact us by calling our non-emergency number 101.”

To report anonymously, you can also call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.