We’ve now gone live with innovative plans to improve the service offered to victims of domestic abuse by bringing specialists into the control room. This means experts from Wearside Women in Need and Harbour Domestic Abuse Services will be on hand teaming up with officers at peak times - offering support and advice right at that crisis moment. I see this as a really positive step in keeping victims and their children safe and well-supported.

Read more HERE. 

Another brilliant return to normality was seeing The Hoppings back on the Town Moor this month – such an iconic event for the region.

I know it’s important that everyone feels safe and has support there if needed and that’s why Newcastle City Council and my Violence Reduction Unit teamed up to fund additional Community Safety resources. Teams were on hand to engage with fair-goers and make sure everyone has a safe, enjoyable and trouble-free time.

HOW NORTHUMBRIA POLICE IS HANDLING CALL DEMANDS

Over the last 12 months the number of 999 calls increased by a staggering 27%. The average time to answer these 999 calls was 2 seconds, which is good, but increased 999 demand has led to increases in the answer times for 101 calls. Yes, your force is under-pressure, but our hardworking teams are meeting demand and I want to reassure you there are improvement plans in place. I have increased the funds available for hiring new call handlers – nearly 50 new call handlers are now joining us. In addition, 40 front office staff have been trained to deal with both 101 and digital demand. I’ll continue closely monitoring this as the service you get when you pick up the phone is important to me.