Burglaries in one Hartlepool area plunge after it wins share of £1m Home Office funding

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) bid for and secured £1.034m from the Home Office’s Safer Streets fund.

The cash paid for targeted work aimed at reducing theft-related crimes such as burglaries and robbery in Burn Valley, Hartlepool, as well as Newport, in Middlesbrough and South Bank, in Redcar and Cleveland.

Newly-released figures from the commissioner’s office show crime rates dropped in all three areas.

Burglary dropped by 49% in Burn Valley, Hartlepool, by March this year compared to 2019-20, the year before the Safer Streets project began.

Measures included CCTV and street lighting improvements, securing alley gates and screening empty properties.

Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner Steve Turner said: “This first round of the Home Office’s Safer Streets funding shows we can work successfully in partnership with a range of agencies to deliver real benefits for residents in crime-hit neighbourhoods.

“Our achievements in reducing acquisitive crimes were despite being given a short time to deliver the project and working restrictions, both caused by the COVID pandemic.

“We used our experience from the first project to inform bids for future Home Office funding, which has resulted in further Safer Streets grants.

“This will help us support another two communities in Cleveland to live safer lives.”

A number of agencies supported the work including Cleveland Police, Hartlepool Community Safety Team, the Joseph Rowntree Trust, Thirteen Housing.

The crime commissioner’s office said there were sustained reductions even after initial falls in crime liked to the pandemic.