Plan to tackle violent crime in Hartlepool after Cleveland Police force area named second-worst in country

The Safer Hartlepool Partnership heard how a strategy is being drawn up looking at reducing serious violent crimes across Cleveland.

Simon Smart, serious violence prevention lead at the office of the Police and Crime Commissioner in Cleveland, gave a presentation on how everyone must work together to help address this.

As of 2020/21 Cleveland has risen from fifth to having the second highest violent crime rate in the country, and recent data shows it has the fourth highest knife crime rate, according to his presentation.

Mr Smart added the previous Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) and the current acting PCC have both highlighted the issue as a priority and have lobbied for more resources.

He said: “The statistics I’m afraid are not particularly great as regards Cleveland.

“The previous PCC and the current PCC have been lobbying virtually non-stop to try and get some funding to address serious violence in Cleveland.

“We are not the only ones where we have an issue with serious violence and the Government does not recognise that we need funding to help to address it.

“Against the norms, against the national comparators, Cleveland has an increase in serious and violent crime, against a national comparative reduction.

“It’s not pleasant reading, but they are the facts, and it reinforces why we need to address this as a serious issue.”

A serious violence summit was previously held in February 2020 between partners Cleveland wide to agree to work together on reducing such crimes.

Key to addressing the issue will be early intervention and prevention, supporting communities, local partnerships, tackling county lines and drug issues, and effective law enforcement, according to officers.

Mr Smart said the area would be taking a ‘public health approach’, which involves organisations working together to tackle the causes of violent crime, adding it is not just a policing issue.

He said: “One of the key things that across the country has been learnt, is this is simply not a policing issue, we can’t police our way out of this, it has to be a more collaborative effort, hence the public health approach.

“It takes violence as not an isolated incident, and it’s not just a police enforcement issue.”

He added: “The key things are the analytical, examining what works, ensuring prevention and early intervention and collaboration, linking with all the sectors and evaluating the impact of the outcomes or interventions that we deliver.

“In Cleveland there is very much a partnership ethos and it is very, very strong and it’s quite refreshing.”

He added they are now looking at how they can secure funding for the Cleveland unit for reduction in violence to drive it forward.

Cllr Shane Moore, Hartlepool Borough Council leader and chair of the Safer Hartlepool Partnership, said it is a very important issue, and must remain a priority after the PCC elections later this year.

He said: “We’re all acutely aware of the fact that elections are coming, and whilst this was a priority for the previous PCC and the acting PCC, any new PCC coming in may have very different priorities that they wish to tackle first.”

He added: “For me this is a serious issue that we need to continue trying to drive forward and trying to tackle, but I just have a little bit of a concern it may fall by the wayside.”

Mr Smart added it is already listed as a priority in the police and crime plan going forward and the PCC office and Cleveland Police are committed to it, meaning it should remain a priority and not be forgotten.

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