As the Christmas party season approaches, One Punch UK launches its 2019 Punched Out Cold campaign – now in its 6th Year.

The campaign aims to raise awareness of the devastation one punch can cause, and urges people to think about the long-term consequences of their actions.

One Punch UK hopes to get every police force in the UK supporting the campaign so the hard-hitting poster and important message reaches as many people as possible. In 2018, the poster was viewed more than 1.6 million times on social media, something the campaign hopes to double this year.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness, who is supporting the campaign, along with all three regional police forces and their PCCs, firmly believes that education is key.

She said: “Every act of violence is one too many.  My vision is to prevent crime and tragedy before they happen. This campaign is about making safe choices, recognizing the warning signs and teaching people to think again when they face potentially violent situations. An impulsive action, with clouded judgment, on a festive night out can result in a lifetime of regret.

“By starting early and educating young people, we can make a difference. Identifying and tackling the root causes of crime and harm in our communities is a top priority for me and I will be working closely with One Punch UK as part of the prevention work that’s at the heart of my Violence Reduction Unit. Violence is not inevitable, it is in large parts predictable and through campaigns like this we can help prevent it.”

Committed campaigner and founder of One Punch, Maxine Thompson-Curl, whose son was tragically killed by one-punch on his 19t^h birthday, said: “This campaign is so important to educate people what a single punch can do and the devastation it can cause. The message is to stop, think and walk away. Don’t put anyone through what I’ve gone through for the past eight years – I lost my son to a one punch assault and I work alongside people who have lost loved ones because of violent attacks. Let’s stop this – there doesn’t need to be violent attacks.”

NEWCASTLE CHARITY TAKES A STAND AGAINST SEXUAL VIOLENCE WITH LAUNCH OF #ITSNOTOKAY MOVEMENT

YOUNG people’s charity Streetwise is encouraging the region to take a stand and stop gender-based violence through its campaign #itsnotokay, launching in line with International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on Monday 25 November 2019.

The 16 days of activism will run from Monday 25 November to Tuesday 10 December 2019 with the charity taking to the streets of Newcastle city centre on launch day asking the public to pledge their support to the campaign. Starting with ‘#itsnotokay’, the public will be invited to share the things they feel should not be happening in our city, for example #itsnotokay to grope me, harass me, send me indecent images, with the aim to raise awareness of the ongoing issue. People are also encouraged to share their thoughts on social media to get people talking about a traditionally taboo subject.

#itsnotokay aims to promote the message that violence against women and girls is not okay. In 2018, Streetwise carried out a Sexual Violence Survey* with 174 female respondents. The survey revealed that 57 percent of young women said they had been groped or grabbed in a sexual manner, and 40 percent said they had felt forced or pressured to do something sexually that they did not want to do.

In March 2017 the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) estimated that 20 percent of women have experienced some type of sexual assault since the age of 16, and around 5 in 6 victims (83 percent) did not report their experience to the police.

Local police recorded crime data has also revealed that there were 1,209 recorded sexual offences in Newcastle in 2016/17, this is a rate of 4.1 per 1,000, a significant increase since 2014/15.

Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness, fully supports the #itsnotokay campaign and said: “This movement is about empowering young women and girls and giving them the confidence to challenge and speak out. Whether it’s disrespectful, intrusive or abusive behaviour – it’s all wrong.

“It’s so important to me that young girls feel equal, in control and above all, safe. I want victims to be aware of the help and support available to them through fantastic organisations like Streetwise who I will be working very closely with in the coming months.”

Mandy Coppin, CEO at Streetwise Young People’s Project, said: “Our #itsnotokay campaign is about raising awareness to help stop our girls and young women from being sexually assaulted. It is critical that we do everything we can to continue providing essential support services for those young people who need help following a sexual assault.

“Our message to those on the receiving end of sexual harassment or witnesses of assaults, who are sometimes as young as 12 years old, is to ‘see it, report it, and stop it’. If you see someone or are a victim of sexual assault, it’s important to report it to someone who can help. This may be a teacher, a parent, a sibling, the police, or anyone who you feel safe speaking to. The more reports that are made we believe will help to bring an end to unwanted sexual attention and sexual assault.”

Streetwise will be carrying out a range of activities throughout the 16-day period. All staff will be wearing #itsnotokay T-shirts everyday, which are also be available to purchase, and there will be drop-in sessions for young people to learn more about healthy/unhealthy relationships and pledge their support. The building will be decked in Orange to mark the start of 16 days of activism.

If a young person has experienced domestic or sexual violence, contact Streetwise on 0191 230 5400 or drop in to speak to a specialist for support.

ENDS

A fresh-faced group of volunteers will be sworn in this week in a bid to crackdown on rural crime across Northumberland.

A total of 20 Rural Crime Volunteers officially joined Northumbria Police on Wednesday (November 20) and will work closely with our officers and other partner agencies to help prevent and disrupt local and cross-border criminal activity.

Each volunteer will support officers with local and national police operations including Operation Checkpoint.

Superintendent Helen Anderson, from Northumbria Police, said: “We’re delighted to welcome these volunteers into our policing family.

“Each volunteer already has contacts within their own rural communities which will help with getting messages out and intelligence in.  They will also help us to promote rural crime prevention messages for hard to reach audiences.

Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness said: “It’s amazing to see so much dedication from these volunteers. They continue to support officers and staff in their work to tackle rural crime and they do it all on their own time and on occasion risking their own personal safety.

“It’s an honour to be able to present them with their badges and welcome them to Northumbria Police as official Rural Crime Volunteers. I wish them all the luck for their future operations and have no doubt they will continue to be an essential asset to the Force.”

The volunteers come from a variety of different backgrounds including gamekeepers, estate managers and farmers and are coming far and wide from the border with Cumbria down to the Durham.

Volunteers already have a good understanding of local crime and wildlife concerns in their areas which can be passed to the right agency for the best response.

One of the volunteers sworn in said: “It’s about doing my part for the community. We can be the eyes and the ears out in the public to help officers and do our bit. Whether it is looking out for suspicious activity and vehicles or sharing intelligence quickly amongst officers and other volunteers – it can all pay off.”

While a Rural Crime Volunteer does not have powers to arrest they will have access to police equipment and information, for example having access to radio channels to share intelligence during operations.

Superintendent Anderson added: “By swearing them in, we can strengthen our working relationships and recognise their contribution as official police volunteers. I want to wish them luck and once again offer my gratitude for all they do.”

Tuesday (29 October) marks 100 days since Kim McGuinness took over as Police and Crime Commissioner for Northumbria and set to work on a preventative approach to crime as well as doing everything within her power to ensure more officers are where local people want to see them – on the streets of Northumbria.

In her bid to take on the role of overseeing the region’s police force, Kim pledged to be the “People’s commissioner – representing what people want from their police force, being there for the community and dealing with the problems that often lead people to go into crime.” In this short time, Kim has already taken important steps to deliver on these priorities.

Violence Reduction Unit

One of her first actions has been to set up a Violence Reduction Unit to tackle the root causes of crime. The unit brings together police, our six local authorities, health agencies and community representatives to treat violent crime as an epidemic, stop it from spreading and to understand the causes so long-term preventative action can be put in place.

Based at her office, there is now a growing team of experts with knowledge in youth intervention work, alcohol and drugs misuse and mental health. Her vision is clear, she wants to give people of all ages in Northumbria the opportunity to make positive life choices rather instead of taking the path that can lead to crime.

Officers on the streets

From day one, Kim’s voice on policing resources has been loud and clear. The key message from the people she met during her campaign trail was the need for greater police visible on the streets. This commitment is now being delivered with the recruitment of around 300 new police officers between now and March 2021 – this is in addition to the extra numbers from Government.

Although recruitment is underway, what matters to Kim is ensuring that the Government provides a long-term funding solution to enable the Chief Constable to deliver the most effective policing service for the people of Northumbria. That’s why she has personally written to both the Prime Minster and the Home Secretary, piling on the pressure for long term investment, not a short-term fix.

Speaking on her 100^th day in office, Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness, said: “Since day one I’ve seen first-hand the growing demands and challenges faced by our police force every single day. I’ve listened to the communities – hearing both praise and areas of concern. It’s fair to say there is lots to do but I am pleased to say I’m forming a plan and there is plenty of good work already underway.

“Northumbria is a safe place and it’s my job, along with the police to keep it that way, violent crime is rising– we need the strongest, collective response possible and that’s why I have set up a Violence Reduction Unit. Violence is not inevitable, it is in large parts predictable, and in Northumbria I want to prevent it rather than task police officers to pick up the pieces afterwards. This plan is coming to life and this is only the beginning.”

“As I’ve said before, I’ll keep piling the pressure on Government until they commit to a long-term funding strategy that shows how seriously they take policing our communities. We need a Government that’s committed to the frontline and not the headline. Our communities, our police force, our victims and our future generations deserve so much more and this is what I will continue to fight for.”

This coming week, as part of the national Rural Crime Week of Action, Northumbria Police and partners will once again join forces in a show of support against rural crime.

Officers, staff and volunteers from across the region will be joined by Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness, as they work in partnership this week to demonstrate their commitment to tackling rural issues impacting communities.

Superintendent Helen Anderson, of Northumbria Police’s Northern Area Command, said how important it was to use a coordinated multi-force effort to tackle offending which targets those who live and work in the countryside.

She said: “As part of the Rural Crime Week of Action we’re able to once again demonstrate that tackling rural crime continues to be high on our agenda here in Northumbria

“It is important that we not only continue to protect people from rural crime but also increase confidence in those communities who feel vulnerable to such offences that action is being taken.

“It is also important to stress that whilst we take action with other forces during these weeks of action, our work does not start and stop there. We have carried out numerous initiatives and positive police action to tackle rural criminality and will continue to do long after this week is over.

“People living and working in these communities are our eyes and ears and we rely on their information to help us build up a picture of what is going on.

“We urge residents and partners to report anything they see that looks suspicious – together we are making a difference and can continue to make communities a safe place to live and work.”

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness, said: “I’m very aware of the need to understand and address the issues of those living and working across the vast rural areas we have in Northumbria. I’m going to be taking the opportunity to speak with local people, businesses and groups and will listen carefully to their concerns. Tackling rural crime is very much a joint effort and it’s important we continue to strengthen our relationships with partner to ensure we are tackling rural crime head-on.”

You can report suspicious activity by completing a form online at www. northumbria.police.uk, calling 101 or through the Rural Crime Reporting Line anonymously 0800 783 0137 or by visiting www.ruralcrimereportingline.uk

In an emergency always dial 999.

Key stakeholders in Newcastle will come together on Thursday to shape an action plan aimed at reducing and preventing instances of criminal exploitation and serious violence in the city.

Approximately 150 representatives from Northumbria Police, Newcastle City Council and other agencies will gather at the Discovery Museum to assess the root causes of criminal exploitation and serious violence and look at where interventions can be made to protect vulnerable residents.

Northumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness and Newcastle City Council’s director of public health Eugene Milne will be among those speaking in favour of a public health approach to tackling the issues. National experts will also be addressing attendees to share their experiences of the issues.

The need for a Newcastle-specific action plan was agreed earlier this year following discussions between the Safe Newcastle board; the Newcastle Safeguarding Adults Board; Newcastle Safeguarding Children Board; and the Youth Offending Team.

Together, they hope to develop and implement an action plan focused on the themes of: understanding the problem; prevention, early engagement and diversion; education, awareness and training; safeguarding vulnerable people; and disruption of criminal activity.

Cllr Clare Penny-Evans, chair of Safe Newcastle and Newcastle City Council’s cabinet member for communities and climate change, said: “Criminal groups will always look to exploit the most vulnerable people in society for their own gain and to have the best chance of preventing this it is important we share our expertise and work together.

“In Newcastle we don’t have the levels of serious violence and exploitation seen in other cities, but we cannot afford to be complacent and we will always look at ways of improving outcomes for people in our city.

“It will be invaluable to share experiences and best practices with our partners in the city to find a way we can all work together to improve the safety of people living and working in Newcastle.”

Kim McGuinness, Northumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness, said: “Everyone at this conference will know that violent crime is a far more complex problem than the stereotypical image of a young male picking up a knife and lashing out, and so our response to violent crime cannot simply be a 999 call and a prison cell. Violence is not inevitable, it is in large parts predictable and we can prevent it. I’m setting up a Violence Reduction Unit to help co-ordinate our efforts and make a long-term difference here in Newcastle and throughout the whole of Northumbria. I want to work with others to ensure we can turn around lives and actually prevent people taking part in violent crime not pick up the pieces afterwards.”