Shutters coming down on Hartlepool shopping centre crime

Cleveland Police have set up links and patrols by neighbourhood and Special Constabulary officers in and around the town’s Middleton Grange Shopping Centre to reduce thefts from shops and anti-social behaviour.

Hartlepool Neighbourhoods Chief Inspector Mark Haworth has set up the initiative with the North East Retail Crime Partnership (NERCP), Northumbria Coalition Against Crime and staff at Middleton Grange to ensure an effective, co-ordinated approach to preventing issues - and tackling them where they do occur.

The centre now has a dedicated police office in the centre – with a radio link to the security team – and the Business Impact Scheme is now up and running.

Chief Insp Haworth said: “I’d like to thank everyone involved for their on-going support and for making the Hartlepool partnership a success.

“I’ve also pledged to build on this by starting training customer facing staff in Middleton Grange on how to deal with anti-social behaviour, harassment and public order offences so they feel better equipped.

“I’m sure that retailers across Cleveland will want to get on board and that we’ll see this success replicated in all our retail centres.”

Mark Watson, from NERCP, added: “This is a great opportunity for NERCP and the whole Northumbria Coalition Against Crime to do some great work in Hartlepool and hopefully, in the future, across Cleveland.

"Working with everyone involved, we hope to make Hartlepool a happier and safer place to shop and work.”