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Policing (Middlesbrough)

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mrs. Dunwoody) for giving me a chance to get here. If she had not done so, I should have lost the debate. I also thank you, Mr. Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to speak about aspects of policing in the Middlesbrough area of my constituency. Most people are aware that the Government have made combating crime and antisocial behaviour a key community priority. In practice, the police and our local crime-fighting partnerships have been supported consistently by resources and backing from the Government, and it is on the concept of partnerships and their success in Middlesbrough that I want to concentrate. We cannot rely on the police alone to fight crime; crime-fighting must be the business of the whole community. In order to identify the problems and determine the appropriate strategies with which to confront them, we must ensure that there is broad participation by all the relevant stakeholders. The supervision of policing through an active and involved police authority is central to the process, as is full support from the local authority. Combined with a highly competent and dedicated chief constable and a committed team of senior police officers, that approach has given Middlesbrough what is perhaps the country’s most impressive crime-fighting partnership. That partnership is certainly performing. Let us look at the facts and figures. In 2006-07 crime was down by 5.1 per cent., with around 1,298 fewer victims than in 2005-06. Robberies were down by 12.7 per cent., house burglaries by 23.8 per cent., vehicle theft by 34.7 per cent. and sexual offences by 8.6 per cent. The key driver of those reductions was the crime detection rate, which rose by 5.2 per cent. I believe that Sean Price, who became Cleveland’s chief constable in April 2003, has been one of the key factors in this great success story. He has united and lifted the morale of a force that had been divided by internal tension under its previous leadership. He has established a hands-on management style that has led to higher personal involvement by senior officers in front-line policing, and has delegated more decision making to officers on the beat. He has also successfully argued for extra officers to be deployed on the ground. As a result of his determination, along with the support from the Home Office, Cleveland will soon have the highest number of officers in the force's history. That equates to 1,727 full-time police officers, 197 police community support officers and 50 special constables. The force has been able to recruit 23 more police officers and, crucially, 20 of those new posts have been earmarked for neighbourhood policing. That has been accompanied by an intense programme of collaboration with Middlesbrough council and with community and neighbourhood groups across the town. The Cleveland police motto of ““putting people first”” is not just a catchy mission statement. It forms part of their whole ethos. In Cleveland, we now have at least one dedicated police officer in place for each neighbourhood across the force area, based in well known public buildings. As the chief constable said recently:"““The public and their elected representatives have made it clear that they want a more visible presence on the streets and greater contact with officers dedicated to their area. Neighbourhood policing is delivering that improved service to our communities.""There has been a growth in public confidence across the force in officers they see on a regular basis and can easily contact.""With a neighbourhood policing team to cover every ward within the force area, both uniformed police officers and community support officers are now allocated to their own regular beats.””" Sean Price's comments were echoed by our police authority chair, Councillor Dave McLuckie, who recently said:"““In all our consultations and discussions with local people we know that what they value most is a visible police presence on their streets and in their communities—and that is what neighbourhood policing is all about.""As an authority we have been clear in putting the objective of maximising resources for front-line policing as a top priority—and this is reflected in the fact that in the current year the force will have the highest numbers of officers in its history, achieved with the support of our local authority partners, all of whom play a key role in tackling crime and disorder.””" Middlesbrough demonstrates the importance of visibility to a successful neighbourhood policing model. It is key to gaining public confidence. The council and other private and voluntary agencies have helped the police immeasurably by allowing their premises and facilities to be used by the police neighbourhood teams as drop-in offices and venues for ward surgeries. In my own area of Middlesbrough, the council has allowed the use of community centres in Park End and Marton and libraries in Hemlington, Coulby Newham and Easterside. The teams have also worked with local churches by using church halls in Stainton and West Marton and businesses such as Spar have enabled the police to use their facilities as a community policing base in areas such as Nunthorpe. Local housing associations are also helping. The Anchor housing trust has allowed the Marton neighbourhood policing team to use its community centre in Gypsy lane, Marton, and the Guinness Trust has opened up its centre in Coulby Newham. The Sure Start initiative has also helped by basing neighbourhood police teams in its centres in Hemlington and Beechwood, which gives local mothers and young women the opportunity to talk to the police about issues of concern to them. That approach to community policing means that special initiatives managed by the police can be targeted at very small neighbourhood areas and tailored to meet community concerns. A good example of the local partnerships can be seen in the outlying estate of Hemlington, which has social exclusion problems and a history of antisocial behaviour on the part of a small, but persistent number of youths. Police have teamed up with colleagues from Middlesbrough council, youth services and housing organisations in a bid to clamp down on that antisocial behaviour. A couple of weeks ago, a dispersal order was put in place so that youngsters can be moved on, taken home or even arrested if they are behaving in an antisocial or criminal way. The partners hope that the young people will instead make use of the facilities at the nearby Hemlington recreation centre, such as its skate and play parks, youth shelter, football pitch and tennis court. These are early days, but I have high hopes that the exercise will yield positive results. The role of the council in the partnership should not be understated. The mayor of Middlesbrough, Ray Mallon, is a former police officer, and he pioneered the concept of zero tolerance. He has been re-elected twice and his leadership has made a great contribution to the town. Since coming to office, he has introduced new initiatives and projects to fight crime and social disorder. The council’s lead member for community safety, Barry Coppinger, has also recently hit the headlines with new crime-busting policies and projects. The most significant and recent example was the initiative to combine a CCTV system with live audio microphones that enable controllers to warn offenders. That might have seemed like a gimmick to some, but it works. Moreover, that initiative has been developed by a neighbourhood ““community company””, thereby allowing local people to manage and control its development. It has also created new jobs for local people in personal and premises security. The task now is to cement that partnership and to build on its achievements to a level where people in Middlesbrough can live without the fear of crime. In order to realise that goal, we must ensure that support from central Government continues. Such programmes must also not be seen as the preserve of the Home Office—other Departments must also be part of the process. The Department for Education and Skills, for example, has a key role to play in supporting projects aimed at disaffected young people and backing programmes to combat bullying and truancy. That will have a knock-on effect on the level of crime and antisocial behaviour on our streets. The new Ministry of Justice and the Department for Communities and Local Government should also pay regard to what is being achieved in Middlesbrough. It helps little if the police and the council are tackling crime only for it to be seen that sentencing policy fails to complement the tough approach that must be taken to isolate and deal with the core of troublemakers. The Department for Communities and Local Government should be aware that there is a clear link between neighbourhood design and architecture and crime. Like many other towns and cities, Middlesbrough has ambitious plans for redesigning estates and building new ones, and to replace both the planning mistakes of the 1960s and outdated Victorian terraces. In the new communities and estates that will spring up, the need to design-out crime must be the central feature. DCLG must be prepared to be guided by local communities and Middlesbrough partnerships. I invite a cross-departmental group of Ministers to visit Middlesbrough to meet the people I have mentioned, who are implementing the partnership model and serving their communities. I look forward to hearing the Minister’s reply.