MISSING: 485 police officers. Surely it's time to give us back our cops?

Northumbria Police is a force committed to fighting crime and keeping our region safe. But that job is going to get much harder in the coming years. After 12 years of austerity, out of control inflation and a new cost of living crisis, we run the real risk of seeing increased crime. This means more victims of crime and it means more parents and carers coming to me worried that their kids will end up getting into crime. This is the last thing our region needs.

There are two ways we can reduce crime. One is preventing crime in the first place and there is a lot happening locally to achieve this - but we can't improve lives overnight.

The other way is by having more police out there on our streets. You may have heard Government talking about 20,000 extra cops but the reality is that only replaces half of what we have lost. We've had £148 million stripped from Northumbria Police’s budget over the last decade. People need to know this. Government plans simply do not go far enough. Police funding continues to fail the people of the North-East and it’s about time they gave us back our cops. I will keep fighting for this as I explain HERE.

Best wishes,

Kim McGuinness
Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner

Read more HERE.

£200,000 is being invested into Violence Reduction Unit plans prevent serious violence in the North-East this winter. Although serious violence has been on the rise this year, levels dropped by 12.2% in August thanks to more interventions, more youth workers and more diversionary activities for young people. I want to build on this. The more we can invest in prevention, the stronger our position will be in the fight against crime.

 Read more HERE.

Support for children experiencing domestic abuse

Children often see and get drawn into domestic abuse so it’s hugely welcome news that my office has just secured £982,335 in funding to boost a programme of specialist services which hope to reach around 1500 children with therapies and interventions. Domestic Abuse Commissioner Nicole Jacobs visited Acorns, one of the fantastic organisations delivering this work earlier in the month to find out more about the good work happening across our region.

Read more HERE.