Results from our neighbourhood policing team in Sunderland certainly set out how we mean to go on fighting crime in the area. A dedicated festive operation aimed at tackling disorder in the city centre saw Christmas crime rates drop by 37 per cent.

Other activity led to officers and partners stopping more than 160 people, as well as making 10 arrests and issuing 44 dispersal notices. My thanks go to all involved in these continued efforts to improve lives in the area.

It’s the job of my Violence Reduction Unit to bring everyone together to fight violence and crime. I’m pleased to share that there are big plans ahead to build on existing work and explore new interventions. From putting knife crime prevention specialists in our hospitals to help those presenting with injuries who are vulnerable to crime, to rolling out our Student Support Champions to more schools across the region, we are determined to get ahead of the knife culture problem. Here are some powerful images from a recent VRU project held at the Beacon Centre in South Shields. The message from these kids is clear – ‘drop the weapons’. Read more HERE.

TACKLING ASB IN COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE NORTH EAST

January marked a year since I set up my ASB Board - a regional approach to fighting ASB and bring our excellent local public services together. At a board meeting in South Shields last week we looked back at the highlights, successes and key learnings from the past year. Here are just some of the Safer Transport Northumbria highlights:

- 91 youth provision patrols completed across transport network during Oct - Dec '22
- Deployed teams across transport network on key events to identify vulnerability & prevent crime
-Over 2600 downloads of our Safer Transport App. If you haven’t got it already on your phone, you can download it HERE.