Minority groups in South Lakeland and Furness have been urged to report incidents to the police and not remain hidden victims of crime.

Supt Colin Mather, responsible for policing South Lakeland and Furness, believes there is an "extra layer of criminal activity" that goes unreported by certain sections of society across the

area.

He said it could be that victims do not feel able to report crimes, or find it difficult to do so, and there was a need for a greater understanding of their expectations of the police.

Supt Mather was addressing a meeting which brought together so-called "Hard To Reach Groups," attended by representatives from groups including elderly, disabled, deaf, and blind people.

Although no ethnic or homosexual organisations attended the meeting, Supt Mather said that unless the police knew more about the issues facing the wider society, they could not serve their needs.

The meeting at the Abbot Hall Social Centre in Dowker Lane, Kendal, was hosted by county councillor Ian Stewart, a member of the police authority.

He told the audience: "We are trying to find out what different members and sections of the community might be seeking from the police service and police authority.

"We have a duty to find out, and a duty to consult, and more importantly than that, if we do not consult and do not find out, how can we tailor our services to your needs and aspirations."

Supt Mather said he thought the Government's term "Hard To Reach Groups" was terrible because it isolated certain sections of society.

He explained that the police needed to understand more about different cultures, expectations and attitudes.

The meeting heard accounts such as how a police officer could be confused into thinking that a person with Alzheimers had taken illegal drugs, and the difficulties partially-sighted and blind, or hard-of-hearing and deaf people faced in reaching or contacting the police.

Supt Mather said: "As far as racially-motivated and homophobic crime, we do not get many, I wonder if that is because it is not reported.

"How many elderly people have witnessed incidents they wanted to report to the police? There's a whole extra layer of criminal activity going on that we do not know about, and if we do not know about it, then how can we do anything about it?"

It was agreed that all sides needed to understand more of each other and another meeting will take place in mid-summer at the same venue on a date to be arranged.