More police back on the beat in anti-crime drive across the Durham force area
Peak time patrols have stepped up in town centre hotspots over recent weeks to tackle serious violence, knife crime and anti-social behaviour.
Extra officers have been made available for high-visibility deployment to help deliver Operation Pave, a £1m move that appears to be already paying dividends.
Specific Operation Pave patrols led to 63 arrests being made, 11 vehicle seizures and 26 fixed penalty notices being issued during June, as officers targeted issues highlighted by the public as of most concern to them.
(Image: Tom Banks) The results included officers in Chester-le-Street seizing an undocumented quad bike and arresting the driver after patrol officers found a large group of motorcyclists gathered in Lambton Lane.
Two men were arrested in Darlington and a significant quantity of drugs were seized, while a prolific offender was given a criminal behaviour order and banned from the city centre in Durham for two years.
Following a stop and search operation, a woman was arrested for drug possession in Stanley.
The visible deterrent of extra patrols is just part of a drive to further improve neighbourhood policing across the Durham force area.
Six new inspectors have been appointed to cover Spennymoor, Seaham, Barnard Castle and Crook, Consett and Stanley, and Darlington and Newton Aycliffe to spearhead improvements to community policing force-wide.
The new inspectors will be joined by 26 extra beat officers and PCSOs over the next few months, recruited to bolster the frontline fight against crime and anti-social behaviour.
It is helping the force to make positive progress towards the delivery of the first stage of the National Policing Guarantee, announced by the Home Office in April.
Every resident of County Durham and Darlington now has a named officer to deal with issues in their locality.
Details can be found in the Your Area section of the force website, via Home | Durham Constabulary.
Although immediate calls for help should still go through 999 or 101, it means members of the public can directly contact the officer or PCSO dedicated to tackling anti-social behaviour, dealing with community concerns and preventing crime where they live.
Those neighbourhood officers will respond to local concerns within a maximum of 72 hours, keeping individual residents up to date with progress to solve problems and keeping communities fully informed about priorities for their area.
Durham Constabulary has also appointed a dedicated anti-social behaviour lead, who will co-ordinate attempts to tackle the issue across the force area.
(Image: Durham Constabulary) Chief Constable Rachel Bacon said: 'People have a right to feel safe in their own communities and to be able to live a life free from crime and anti-social behaviour.
'Neighbourhood policing is at the heart of everything the public consistently tell us they want to see us deliver.
'Our communities want us to tackle crime and prevent anti-social behaviour, protect the vulnerable and reduce the number of victims.
'That is why we are putting more officers back on the beat, making a real difference where you live.'
Over the last 12 months, recorded crime has been reduced by three per cent across County Durham and Darlington, including significant reductions in residential burglary, down by a third with 200 fewer burglaries, and a 13pc reduction in shoplifting.
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The Chief Constable added: 'We have delivered on our promise that every resident of County Durham and Darlington will have a named, accessible officer who they can raise concerns with, highlight priorities for action in their area and view progress to solve those problems.
'We still have more to do, not least recruiting and deploying those extra officers we want to see on the ground.
'But we are already seeing results and as we move forward, I'm confident we will make a real difference in all our communities.'
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