PUBLIC transport users have been noticing a greater presence of uniformed officers across stations and stops throughout the North East, as part of Police Commissioner Kim McGuinness’ drive to cut down anti-social behaviour experienced by passengers.

To build further on her Safer Transport Northumbria project, Kim McGuinness has invested an extra £1million in ASB funding to cover high-visibility patrols and targeted intervention work, with a particular focus on the region’s transport networks.

In recent months, a programme of work to fight crime and stamp out nuisance behaviour has seen Northumbria Police officers team up with transport providers Stagecoach and Nexus to provide targeted patrols.

Other local communities that have also recently benefiting from targeted funding for a greater uniform presence on the streets include West Denton, Cramlington, Biddick Hall and Whiteleas.

ASB crackdown operations focus on increased policing presence in neighbourhoods, taking action against ASB offenders and working with local councils to tidy up communities.

The Police Commissioner has previously spoken out on how cuts to policing, public transport and councils over the last 13 years have had consequences, with rising ASB being one of them. She is now using ASB funding to help passengers feel safer when travelling, which she believes is an important step in helping the region to thrive.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness, said: “We have been rolling out more patrols and officers have been delivering focused operations in busy periods and at key interchanges and stations. It’s getting noticed too. Kids are noticing there are more officers; they’re not hanging around the same in some of their usual sports as a direct consequence. What we are doing is working.”

Kim continued: “This all helps to address people’s concerns and improve overall feelings of safety. It’s so important we get our region’s transport right and fighting and preventing crime is a key part of it.

“ASB can make victims’ lives a nightmare, causing stress, worry and despair. We know it can often be a precursor to serious crimes such as knife crime and gang activity, so this heavier policing presence must be backed up with prevention work too and we are working with youth providers to get on top of this side of things too.

“We all want to love where we live, communities that are free of crime and disorder, and I’m determined to deliver this across the force area.”

A recent Safer Communities Survey by Northumbria Police found 95 per cent of respondents feel safe in their neighbourhood, however, young people causing nuisance in public places continues to be cited as one of the top public priorities.

Chief Superintendent Barrie Joisce, of Northumbria Police, said: “We recognise that the anti-social behaviour of a minority can have a significant and detrimental impact on the communities we serve.

“Tackling anti-social behaviour is a priority for the Force and every single day our officers carry out high-visibility patrols to proactively target hotspot areas and get ahead of crime trends.

“As ever, I’d like to thank our residents, commuters and businesses for their ongoing support and I hope this investment offers further reassurance that we have listened to their concerns – and are taking robust action to address them.

“Through effective partnership working, we can continue to make people feel safe, reduce pockets of disorder and ensure anyone involved in anti-social behaviour is dealt with swiftly and effectively.”

Interim Managing Director at Nexus, Cathy Massarella, said: “Extra policing on local public transport networks is a really welcome step and builds on the many new measures we’ve already put in place.

“Customers want to see more done about anti-social behaviour and can be assured that action is being taken to provide a greater uniformed presence on board buses, Metros and at stations. Safety and security is our top priority.

“Nexus invest £1m a year on Metro police every year, and we have spent a further £2m on dedicated security teams to patrol the network at night. Over the summer we launched a new text alert system so that customers can report issues more effectively to us. By texting ‘REPORTIT’ to us on 66777 you get through to the Metro customer service desk straight away.

“We have made great progress, and efforts will continue to reduce rates of anti-social behaviour across our communities, and the public transport networks that serve them.”

ENDS

LOVED ones of Sunderland knife crime victim Connor Brown have revealed Wearside will be welcoming the return of the knife angel to the region as part of continued efforts to prevent youth violence.

The Connor Brown Trust has been working closely with Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness and Sunderland City Council to bring the powerful sculpture to the city – which has now been confirmed to arrive in June 2024.

Standing at 27ft tall and constructed with over 100,000 surrendered blades, it’s set to be installed at Keel Square, where it will bring people together and encourage open conversations around the dangers of carrying bladed weapons, and the potential consequences.

It is not the first time the knife angel has visited the region. In February 2020, the emotive figure stood tall on Gateshead’s quayside at Performance Square, outside the Sage. That time another local anti-knife crime charity, Samantha’s Legacy, campaigned to get the angel to the North East and was supported by Kim McGuinness.

During the knife angel’s last visit thousands of young people visited the statue and many received a hard-hitting knife crime workshop delivered by the charity to highlight just how devastating the impacts carrying a knife can have on individuals, families, and entire communities.

Similarly, this year the Connor Brown Trust will be running various workshops – taking their important story of how Connor was tragically killed to classrooms and youth groups throughout the region.

These sessions will centre on warning young people of the dangers as well as crucially making sure they know what to do and where to go if they need help or advice if they or someone they know is carrying a knife.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness said: “Anyone who has already seen the knife angel knows how powerful it is – so poignant and hard-hitting. It sends shivers – it really makes you think – and that’s the idea.

“For me it perfectly symbolises the social change that we’re trying to push for across the region. It’s all about encouraging the important conversations, we’re delivering the powerful sessions and we’re reaching young people everywhere we can – from billboards and bus stops to Snapchat and Tik Tok – the message is everywhere.

“Too many lives have been lost due to the needless carrying of blades and so we are determined with this, we have to be. We are using every tool and method we can to get the message through, to change ways and ultimately save lives.”

The Connor Brown Trust was set up following the tragic death of 18-year-old Connor Brown whose parents want to do all they can to help stop knife crime and prevent others from going through the life-changing heartbreak they have. Mum Tanya, who has been the driving force behind getting the angel to Sunderland, said:

“I am thrilled that the Knife Angel is coming to Sunderland. It is an amazing piece of art in itself and the facts around the structure is something that resonates with us as a family. We know how much of an impact it had when it was in our region in 2020 and so many visited the angel and had the opportunity to be part of the educational workshops. I am positive the Knife Angel will have just as much of an impact on many more young people and attract many visitors. We have plans to run an extensive educational programme with other events and activities for the month the Angel is here in our city.”

Councillor Graeme Miller, Leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “I’m really pleased that the Knife Angel is visiting our city for the first time. I hope it has an incredibly powerful impact on everyone who sees it during its visit to Sunderland.

“No mother should ever have to go through what Tanya went through when she lost Connor, and my heart goes out to her and to every other parent who has lost a child to knife crime.

“If the Knife Angel coming to Sunderland makes even one young person think twice about carrying a knife or sparks a conversation among a group of young people about the devastating consequences of knife crime, then its visit will have been well worthwhile.”

Kim McGuinness established the region’s first Violence Reduction Unit in 2019, which works with a range of partners including Northumbria Police, to combat the devastation caused by knife crime.

Artist Alfie Bradley created the knife angel out of blades handed in during amnesties held by police forces across the country.

ENDS

NORTHUMBRIA’S Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness is set to commission a full independent review of the complaint made in relation to the police investigation into the murder of Sunderland school girl Nikki Allan.

In May 2023, David Boyd, 55, was found guilty of beating seven-year-old Nikki Allan with a brick and stabbing her in a disused building in Sunderland. His conviction came after the re-opening of Northumbria Police’s investigation in 2017 – where advances in DNA testing revealed a link to Nikki Allan’s ex-neighbour, Boyd.

Northumbria Police initially prosecuted another of Nikki’s neighbours, George Heron, but he was cleared of murder in 1993. Northumbria Police has previously apologised for failures.

Kim McGuinness has previously said she can only imagine the impact the wait for justice has had on Nikki’s family and yesterday she met in person with Nikki’s mother, Sharon Henderson, to discuss her experience.

In her role as Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness is required to act as the public’s voice in policing in Northumbria and put in place the appropriate scrutiny to ensure the force is being effectively held to account.

During yesterday’s meeting with the family, Kim McGuinness said she planned to commission an independent organisation to conduct a review of any formal complaint made by the family.

The Commissioner has issued the following statement:

“More than 30 years ago, Sharon Henderson and her family suffered an incredible loss when Nikki Allan was murdered. Their long wait for justice has only compounded their pain.

“Northumbria Police has always remained committed to finding the person responsible, and officers showed that dedication when they used new forensic techniques to finally secure a conviction for Nikki Allan’s murder.

“Hard-working officers brought justice to this case. However, questions remain for Sharon and her family, including over the initial investigation. I agree that Sharon deserves answers. 

“Once the formal complaint is received from the family, I will invite an independent organisation in to review the complaint.

“A process such as this will take time, but Sharon and her family will finally get the answers they need.”

ENDS

Police Commissioner Kim McGuinness has blasted the Home Office for ‘pulling the plug’ on crucial policing projects that have protected countless vulnerable people and seen direct crime fall in the North East.

Home Office officials have made clear that they will not allow any further bids into the Safer Streets fund for two successful Northumbria Police schemes – one designed to keep women safe in bars and clubs, and another which tackles anti-social behaviour and crime on public transport.

Writing to the Some Secretary Suella Braverman last week, Kim McGuinness has urged for the decision to be reversed to allow effective work to continue across the police force.

The first project that can no longer receive Safer Streets funding is Operation Cloak. This operation sees plain-clothes officers proactively target men who seek to take advantage of women in vulnerable situations in the Night-Time Economy. Other Safer Streets projects that won’t continue to be funded are the likes of Operation Princess, which saw extra police, resource deployed across the transport network to tackle crime and rising ASB.  The additional council, security personnel and youth workers that have been deployed across the transport network over the last 12 months to tackle rising ASB will also stop.

The Commissioner recently praised the success of Operation Cloak, which over the last 12 months alone, has delivered more than 700 patrols with 821 policing interventions and 62 arrests. Meanwhile, Operation Princess, seen theft offences fall 78 per cent and public order down by 68 per cent on key sections of the Metro network.

The office has submitted a range of detailed proposals to fight and prevent crime in the region – one will see officers providing high-level surveillance including number plate recognition and CCTV to identify women and children at risk of being abducted, spiked, raped, sexually assaulted, and put in fear of violence so robust action can be taken.

But while the Commissioner is excited at the prospect of rolling out the proposals in place, she said it was a ‘real blow’ to be told that existing projects that are clearly delivering results and keeping people safe have to stop.

Kim McGuinness, said: “It feels like at every turn Government is holding Northumbria Police back – throwing obstacles at policing and quite frankly throwing people into a greater risk of being victims of crime. We’ve been repeatedly denied funding to get recruitment figures back to where we were pre -2010, and now we are being denied funding to continue work that is evidently keeping our region and our people safe.

“We saw this investment reduce crime. The people of the North East have seen what works, they are safer as a result. We should be allowed to invest where there is proven success, based on our local needs. The problem with the Safer Streets Fund is it speaks to a much bigger challenge – the Home Office is intuitionally opposed to devolution. There is too much reliance upon one-off funding announcements in which officials and ministers in Whitehall decide what is best for people living hundreds of miles away. “

View the letter here.

ENDS

As young people across the region head back to school, they will now understand the heart-breaking reality of carrying a knife as Police Commissioner Kim McGuinness’s Violence Reduction Unit ramps up its education programme in a bid to tackle knife crime.

Through providing interactive sessions to thousands of children, the unit’s dedicated Education Team will focus on addressing why young people might carry a knife, the law and consequences around knife crime, dispelling any myths and looking at the advice and support available.

This comes as the Violence Reduction Unit launched its hard-hitting Knives Impact Everyone campaign last month, aimed at making young people think before picking up a knife by understanding the impact their actions can have.

The ramped up violence reduction learning programme is the latest addition in this powerful campaign that already includes emotionally charged graphics on the region’s buses, metro stations, billboards and kiosks, as well as online.

Already featuring in the campaign, the following message will now be a key factor in the education sessions delivered to young people – ‘Knife crime cuts deep. Whether you’re carrying or you’re a victim, the consequences impact everyone; family, friends, emergency services and communities’.

The Education Team have already worked with a staggering 71,555 young people since the unit’s inception in 2019, and this renewed focus will see them work with thousands more.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness said: “I don’t want to see another family go through the heartbreak of losing a loved one to this horrific crime. That’s why this early intervention is key to ensuring young people understand that their actions can have a devastating impact on so many.”

“Education is such a valuable tool, which is my Violence Reduction Unit has a dedicated education team giving young people the chance to take part in open and honest discussions about the realities and consequences of knife crime.”

“We must continue to get the right messages to young people so that we can support them in making better decisions for their future.”

“I know the education team are eager to get back into schools to deliver our vital knife crime awareness sessions, and I’d like to thank every young person who takes part.”

Training is also available to those who work with young people to help them have those early conversations and provide the right support by understanding issues relating to knife crime that could increase a person’s vulnerability.

For more information, please contact the Northumbria Violence Reduction Unit by email vru@northumbria-pcc.gov.uk

ENDS

Hundreds of young people have been targeted by on-the-ground patrols as result of the Newcastle Task Force set up to prevent spikes in summer violence. 

The task force, funded through Police Commissioner Kim McGuinness’ Violence Reduction Unit and Newcastle City Council, is making a significant impact in hotspot and high footfall areas of Newcastle this summer. 

The task force provides a visible presence with staff out meeting hundreds of young people in the city centre, parks and other green spaces, acting as a deterrent to incidents. 

Earlier this month, the Commissioner’s Violence Reduction Unit launched Knives Impact Everyone, an awareness campaign aimed at educating young people on the impact their actions can have if they were to carry or use a knife.  

As part of this, the task force in Newcastle is working to engage young people in order to reduce the number of those found to be in possession of a knife or weapon, as well as reducing the amount of young people becoming involved in anti-social and violent offences.  

Operating when the city is at its busiest for football matches, music concerts, popular nights out and iconic events such as the Hopping’s funfair, the task force has brought in a number of initiatives including:  

• Taking a targeted approach in order to utilise resources appropriately to get the best results in reducing violent crime.    
• Community Safety Teams deployed in hotspot and high footfall areas on weeknights and weekends to act as a deterrence and increase feelings of safety.  
• Utilising CCTV to deploy teams in areas where issues may be arising.  
• Youth Outreach Workers and other key partners working throughout the city now take part in fortnightly meeting to ensure a joined up approach to tackling violent crime.
• Staff have taken part in a programme of training including awareness around knife crime, personal safety, signs of intoxication and drug use, in order to help them spot the early signs and provide the best support.  

To identify and deter those causing the most disruption, the task force brings together a range of services and organisations, including the Northumbria Violence Reduction Unit, Newcastle City Council, Northumbria Police, the Youth Justice Service, Your Homes Newcastle and specialist youth services.  

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness said: “We need to keep getting ahead of the issue and quickly resolving it and that includes driving down violence over the summer and winter periods when the cities are at their busiest.” 

“I am delighted that the task force is making fantastic headway in engaging with our regions young people, helping to identify those causing disruption and deterring them from crime. It is a vital tool in our programme of activity to prevent serious violence, which is why the task force sits alongside the wider work of the Violence Reduction Unit and its partners.” 

“We must continue educating young people through our awareness sessions and important campaigns including Knives Impact Everyone, keep providing positive opportunities through dedicated youth work and offering the right support where needed. All of this early intervention is key to ensuring our young people make good decisions for their future.” 

“We all want to feel safe when attending popular events and enjoying everything else our cities have to offer – that’s why I want to reinforce my message that we will never tolerate violence.” 

For more information, please contact the Northumbria Violence Reduction Unit by email vru@northumbria-pcc.gov.uk 

ENDS