Plans to tackle crime in Blackhall revealed after recent increase in incidents

A meeting will be held at the end of August in the hope of establishing a coordinated response to community concerns of antisocial behaviour and reported crime in Blackhall.

July saw an apparent spike in reports, with a number of alleged burglaries in the village.

Durham Police are also investigating after more than seven vehicles in the same street had their widows smashed in another incident on July 20.

Councillor Rob Crute, who represents the Blackhall Division of Durham County Council, said he was contacted by around a dozen people in the space of three days in the middle of last month.

"There had been a burglary in East Street, there had been a burglary along Blackhall Rocks,” he said.

"There had been three incidents within the space of 24 hours. That’s the type of thing that alarms people.”

A resident who has been living in Blackhall for 20 years added that crime in the village has been getting worse in the past few years.

He told the Mail: "It’s been constantly getting worse.”

The resident said: "The general feeling around the place is that nobody cares and nobody does nothing about it. Everybody in the village is just left to put up with it.

"People feel lost, as if nobody cares.”

There are hopes a range of safety and security measures will be put in place following the meeting at the end of August.

A shop-watch scheme has already been established by shop keepers to deal with shoplifting.

Cllr Crute has said wider CCTV coverage of the village is among the measures people would like to see and that crime and anti-social behaviour also needs to be reported properly to tackle the issues.

"A lot of people don’t bother reporting crime because they don’t see a response from the police and that’s really dispiriting for them,” he said.

“That’s linked to the reduction in the number of police officers on the streets.

"Years ago, you used to have police walk on the streets, but those days are gone. We’ve got to find a way that tackles crime and tackles people’s fear of crime in a different way.”

Cllr Crute has added that housing issues also need to be examined in the long term to resolve the issues.

"Where most of the problems are, there are a lot private sector rented houses. I am not saying everybody who lives in those houses causes all the crime, it simply isn’t the case, but there’s a lot of absentee landlords who let properties out to people they don’t know,” he explained.

"What I would like to do is get the council to buy up those empty properties.”

Meanwhile, enquiries continue after several vehicles in Shaftesbury Road had their windscreens and rear windows damaged at around 8pm on July 20.

Durham Constabulary has said the suspects are believed to have been wearing Balaclavas and riding an electric bike.

A force spokesperson said: “Officers are carrying out enquiries into the incident, including reviewing CCTV and speaking to witnesses.

“Anyone with any information is asked to contact Durham Constabulary on 101, quoting incident number 447 of July 20.”