Hartlepool leaders welcome big drop in burglaries after crime hot spot ward wins share of £1million Home Office fund

Burn Valley, which two years ago had the highest residential burglary rate in Cleveland, was one of three areas to receive a slice of £1,034,696 from the Home Office Safer Streets Fund.

It was secured last year by the office of the Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner and over the last 10 months has provided more CCTV cameras, better lighting, improved alley gates and tackle empty nuisance properties.

Burglary in Burn Valley area has reduced by 40% from April 2020 to April 2021.

Newport in Middlesbrough and South Bank also received a share of the funding and have seen big drops in acquisitive crime and burglary respectively.

Steve Turner, the new Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland, said: “I’m delighted that our £1million investment has made a difference and delivered real, tangible results for people living in high-crime areas.

“This is what people living in Cleveland want to see - agencies working together to install measures which will cut crime and make them feel safer.”

Mr Turner’s office has also secured an additional £366,289 in the second round of Safer Streets funding for other hot spot areas.

Burn Valley had the highest residential burglary rate in Cleveland area, at 40.09 per 1,000 population, when the figures were calculated in 2019.

As part of the new measures, Hartlepool Borough Council approved spiked anti-climbing attachments to more than 50 alley gates in the area.

The town’s MP Jill Mortimer and council leader Cllr Shane Moore welcomed the news.

Mrs Mortimer said: “This investment has shown a dramatic drop in crime and I am committed to working with Steve Turner and his team to making sure we continue to tackle crime and anti social behaviour, to make our streets safer for local communities.”

Councillor Moore, who is also Chair of the Safer Hartlepool Partnership, added: “The innovative measures introduced in the Burn Valley Ward, including the specially-designed security screens that have been fitted to a number of empty homes in the Oxford Road area, have had a tremendous impact on crime, and we are very grateful indeed for the money secured by the Cleveland PCC’s office from the Home Office Safer Streets Fund.”

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