Project Shield sees transport ASB fall by 30 per cent

INCIDENTS of anti-social behaviour (ASB) at identified hotspot areas across the Northumbria Police force area have dropped by 30 per cent, figures praised by Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Susan Dungworth.

As part of Project Shield, launched by the Police Commissioner, Northumbria Police and partners this summer, officers have been rolling out extra patrols along with councils and transport network partners. Together they have been delivering targeted activity in identified areas of concern, which is making a promising impact.

So far, the project has seen 78 additional police patrols and 1649 partner patrol hours across the transport system which has corresponded with ASB incidents falling from 170 to 119 – a 30 per cent reduction in the first quarter of the project. The number of knife crime incidents also dropped from 3 to 1 which has been welcomed by project leads.

The Commissioner said the project was all about community confidence and driving down crime like anti-social behaviour and serious violence – two areas of heightened public concern given the recent protests and disorder across the region.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Susan Dungworth said: “Project Shield is about us all coming together to get officers and partners out there on our public transport network, creating a really visible uniformed presence. As these falling ASB numbers show – the impact has been positive.

“As it happens, in light of recent events relating to disorder and increased fears around racism, having Project Shield operating will no doubt bring added reassurance for people travelling on our public transport. People should be able to get on with their lives and get about our region without fear of abuse or harm. As well as helping people feel reassured it means there is greater resource on hand to catch those responsible for causing misery and harm in our communities too.”

Susan added: “It’s still early days for Project Shield but I know a lot of activity covering engagement, prevention and enforcement has been mapped out for the months ahead to help deliver safer streets and stronger communities.”

Chief Superintendent Barrie Joisce, Northumbria Police’s lead for anti-social behaviour, said: “These figures are positive and testament to the hard work of our officers and those in our partner organisations who undertake the Project Shield patrols within our communities.

“Our transport hubs are busy all year round and we are committed to keeping them as safe and welcoming as possible for frequent users and those who are visiting our fantastic region.

“Although we are making significant headway in further reducing ASB and serious violence in our communities, we have much more activity planned to improve the picture in the coming weeks and months.

“Those intent on carrying out crime in our area should be aware that we will find you and do everything in our power to bring you to justice.

“If you have any concerns over ASB or crime in your area, then please do not hesitate to contact us. This helps to build our ever-growing intelligence picture so that we can take more targeted action.”

Cathy Massarella, Managing Director of Nexus, said: “We’re working hard in partnership with the police and our local authority colleagues to provide greater customer reassurance and reduce anti-social behaviour on Metro and wider public transport network.

“These latest ASB figures show progress and the extra policing we have seen through Operation Shield, and other similar policing operations, has had an impact. Metro is fundamentally a safe transport system and we will continue to work hard to reduce crime and low level disorder hot spots where it occurs.

“This builds on the work that we have already done to improve safety and security, including the roll out of our dedicated security team, new CCTV, body-worn video cameras for frontline teams, and the launch of our new text alert system to allow customers to contact the Metro control room more quickly and more easily.

“Our message remains the same: anyone causing trouble on Metro should think again, as they are likely to get caught and face prosecution through the courts, a fine, and even a ban from using the system.”

Colin Newbury, Operations Director for Stagecoach Bus North East, said: “At Stagecoach North East we are proud to continue our commitment to the partnership and further support the objectives of Project Shield, helping to strengthen the fight against anti-social behaviour on the transport network.

We have previously supported the partnership by employing a dedicated transport safety officer to provide reassurance to the traveling public, along with deploying the Trojan Bus with plain clothed police officers to tackle offenders who are intent on acts of anti-social behaviour. Our combined efforts will allow the partnership to target anti-social behaviour in these hotspots in a proactive way. 

We understand that we all have a role to play in fighting anti-social behaviour in our local communities, and Stagecoach North East will continue to do all it can with Project Shield to support the partnership and Northumbria Police.”

Northumbria Police data shows a quarter of transport ASB incidents are taking place on Fridays which is a key day for Project Shield deployment. Transport related incidents and crimes are those that take place on a bus, metro, or train, at an interchange or bus station, or any damage made to bus shelters.

Project Shield has been developed with funding secured by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner. Recent funding secured through Safer Streets has also seen investment in body worn cameras, extra CCTV, lighting reviews and more. In addition to increased patrols, activity has been supported by detached youth work across the transport network.

The transport element of Project Shield has focused on areas including Haymarket, Eldon Square, Meadow Well Metro, South Shields Interchange, Park Lane Interchange and Four Lane Ends.

Overall Hotspot Crime/Incident Count – 2024 – Q1
Categories	April	May	June	Total	Change
ASB Incidents	170	140	119	429	-30%
Knife Crime	3	1	1	5	-66%

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FORCE-wide crackdown efforts to tackle motorbike related crime and ASB is to be stepped up, Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness has announced.

Recent policing operations by officers in Northumbria have had very encouraging results with bikes seized and significant arrests made, and the Commissioner says she is determined to bolster efforts further by investing in what has been identified as an increasing concern among local communities.

Some £196,000 secured from the Home Office will fund a new, dedicated support unit to strengthen intelligence sharing between partners. This will then feed into robust police action and designated operations to target the trouble-makers responsible for causing motorbike related ASB in their neighbourhoods.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness, said: “I’m more than aware just how much of a concern motorbike related crime is across our communities. It’s not only nuisance behaviours but dangerous behaviours too. It may only be a small minority doing it but it can put many people at risk of what can be very tragic consequences.

“We must do all we can to drive out this problem – and this project will focus on really understanding the issue, promoting safety and encouraging reporting. We want to steer troublemakers away from these nuisance behaviours and officers will take tough action on those responsible.

“The minority who ride dangerously need to be clear of the punishments. Nobody wants a fine, nobody wants their bike taken away but these are the things that are going to happen if you chose to ride somewhere illegal, somewhere unsafe.”

“By tackling those responsible for these behaviours we can improve the lives of local residents and that’s what we are setting out to do.”

Funding has been secured through Round 5 of the Home Office’s Safer Streets funding. Two further bids made by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Northumbria have also been successful. Other work will cover improving women’s safety in public places, tackling transport ASB and cutting down the number of deliberate secondary fires.

If you have any information about bike-related anti-social behaviour in your community, you can report it to Northumbria Police online via the ‘Tell us Something’ pages of their website, call 101 or contact independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

KIM MCGUINNESS has called on an independent watchdog to investigate crime levels in areas she dubs as Government ‘funding favourites’ for police uplift investment. By contrast, Northumbria has been the force hardest hit by austerity and even post-uplift remains 427 officers short when compared to pre-2010 levels.

Northumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner has written to the National Audit Office asking them to further investigate police resources following the conclusion of the Government’s uplift programme to recruit 20,000 new police officers. The NAO is the UK’s independent public spending watchdog, supporting Parliament in holding Government to account.

Kim McGuinness believes that data to date shows the way in which funds for recruitment were allocated by the Home Office to police forces has risked permanently embedding a reduction in headcount in those forces hit hardest by Government austerity measures.

In the NAO’s own 2018 report Northumbria Police was cited as one of the forces to suffer most from austerity measures. Around 25% of the force’s budget was cut, the NAO report found, with a reduction in officer numbers of around 1,100 as a result.

In 2022 the NAO looked at value for money from the Government’s Uplift programme and noted that “it is too early to assess whether the additional officers are delivering the wider aims of Government to improve public safety and help to reduce crime”.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness, said: “The impacts of funding formulas and uplift investment on local crime levels needs looking at. People have the right to know. Not all areas of the country have benefited equally from the recent uplift in police officer numbers.

“I believe forces with a smaller police precept base, like we do here in Northumbria, have been denied the chance to fully replace the number of officers they’ve lost since 2010. The allocation of Home Office Uplift funding has effectively embedded this cut in headcount for the foreseeable future. For some of us Government has failed to fix the problem it created.”

Kim McGuinness went on to explain “As the NAO report in 2018 found, Northumbria has been reliant on Government for 81% of our funding. Under uplift we received funds for an initial intake of 615 officers. This figure was increased by 60 after the Home Office re-allocated underspend. Government withheld funding for around 425 extra officers needed to bring Northumbria’s policing numbers up to 2010 levels. This disparity is repeated in forces across the North of England, where the council tax base is often smaller than other areas.”

However, the Commissioner pointed to a very different story elsewhere in the country. Last year Essex Police revealed they now have the highest number of officers in their 182-year-history, funded by Uplift and the local precept which makes up nearly half of their funding. The area has also welcomed a significant fall in crime.

The Commissioner continued: “Home Office officials will have known of the differing reliance on central funding when they allocated Uplift targets. It’s fair to say there is a noticeable North-South divide when it comes to funding favouritism too.  And so, I have asked the NAO to look into this again and consider the impact of uplift on reducing crime, and whether the bias in uplift allocation will be considered when measuring impact at a local level.”

The Home Office estimated that nationally the additional officers will provide net positive benefits of £4.7 billion over the next 10 years through additional charges, reduced reoffending and deterrents, and will reduce the number of crimes by around half a million a year by 2024-25.

In a letter to the head of the NAO, Kim asks whether they will be assessing this return on investment against the criteria, and will it breakdown this assessment on a force by force basis.  She states the public have a right to see how crime has changed in areas with the most policing investment, and how those denied the ability to recruit to their 2010 headcount levels have seen crime levels change as a result. She looks forward to the reply.

The letter sent is available to download here.

Vanessa Jardine is set to lead Northumbria Police’s fight against crime in Spring 2023. She is currently Deputy Chief Constable at West Midlands Police and will take up her new post following confirmation by a special Police and Crime Panel on December 13^th.

Northumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner picked Vanessa as the officer to replace Winton Keenen after hearing how the highly experienced police officer intends to deliver on plans to fight and prevent crime across Northumberland, Tyne and Wear.

Kim said: “When I speak to the public they tell me they want to see a force that can fight crime and prevent crime, and I am confident that Vanessa is the ideal person to continue Northumbria Police’s great work towards that aim.

“Our region is a safe one but crime is constantly evolving and we need to be ready for the challenges that brings.

“That’s why I’m delighted to have an officer with Vanessa’s vast experience joining our force.

“Our region faces great challenges in the years ahead, with economic hardship, austerity and the ongoing cost of living crisis set to push more families into difficulties and more young people put at risk of gangs and criminality.

“I know Vanessa is geared up for this challenge and I look forward to working with her on securing a great future for our region.”

Vanessa has been a police officer for over 28 years. Before joining West Midlands Police she worked at Greater Manchester Police where she served as a detective at every rank and the head of Public Protection. She was the force lead for domestic abuse, child protection and child sexual exploitation.

Vanessa was appointed from a shortlist of three following interviews held on December 2^nd.

The interview process itself was spread over two days, where all three candidates presented to stakeholders and staff panels and were then questioned by them on the first day, before then being interviewed by the Commissioner’s selection panel on the second day.

Winton Keenen will remain as chief constable in the interim period while Vanessa prepares to take up post.

MORE patrols, more interventions and more education – these are just some of the plans announced by Police Commissioner, Kim McGuinness, after securing millions in what she describes as a “win for public safety in the North East.”

Whether on the bus or at the bar, the vision set out for the region, by PCC Kim McGuinness along with the local councils and Northumbria Police, is to make public places across our region safer and feel safer for everyone, particularly for women and girls.

The cash-injection for the region will fund enhanced police operations that identify and crackdown on potential offenders, as well as making sure women feel safe and get the best support when needed.

As well as an array of street volunteer, wardens and youth engagement projects, there will also be behaviour change programmes for young men who show inappropriate behaviours and attitudes towards women. People can expect to see more from the popular Fun without Fear campaign which promotes safer nights for women and the Safer Transport Northumbria reporting app will also be developed further.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness said: “We have to accept people don’t always feel safe in some public spaces.

“It’s everyday thoughts – ‘I best not walk through that underpass; I best move carriages to avoid that intimidating bunch of guys’.

“These aren’t paranoid thoughts these are normal thoughts. They race through women’s minds. So, let’s make that underpass brighter, let’s educate that bunch of guys. We need to be doing these things and now we can. It’s full steam ahead now with rolling out this really important work alongside our local authorities and transport networks partners.”

“There is no simple fix -so our plans are about using every tool we can to keep people safe and drive ASB down. We’ve already made a start with a lot of this and I’m excited to build on it.

“Northumbria Police have had great success with Operation Cloak and my Fun without Fear campaign received brilliant support region-wide working closely with our councils and Rape Crisis. Our Safer Transport Northumbria app is now fully established for reporting concerns and flagging ASB on our transport networks. We know what works now and we are all set to build on it now. For me, securing this investment is a real win for women’s safety here in the North East.”

What does the funding secured look like?   WOMEN’S SAFETY IN PUBLIC SPACES BID APPLICATION: SUCCESSFUL ·         Enhanced night-time economy policing (Northumbria Police’s Operation Cloak) ·         Street volunteer and warden projects – reassuring presence in public spaces ·         Safer underpasses ·         Behaviour change programmes for young men exhibiting inappropriate behaviours and attitudes ·         Disclosure, awareness and active bystander training ASB ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT BID APPLICATION: SUCCESFUL ·         Continue developing and promoting the Safer Transport Northumbria APP ·         Youth provisions and days of action to engage with transport users ·         Working with partners to identify peak times and hot spots and deterrents ·         Overtime local authority, Nexus and police staff

Northumbria Police Assistant Chief Constable Neil Hutchison said: “As with previous successful funding bids, we very much welcome this latest announcement as it means we can build on the considerable work already under way to keep our communities safe.

“We are always keen to expand on these initiatives and ultimately want everyone to feel safe, whether that is while on a night out or enjoying the region’s beautiful parks and open spaces.

“We are committed to listening to the communities we are privileged to serve and working with our partners as we all come together to help ensure this region remains one of the safest in the country.”

Chief Operating Officer at Nexus, Martin Kearney, said: “We have worked in partnership with the Police and Crime Commissioner on the Safer Streets bid, and we’re delighted that more funding has now been secured to boost safety and security on the public transport network.

“It is vital customers feel safe on public transport at all times and we look forward to working with Kim McGuinness and our police force on taking the scheme forward.

“Nexus has invested in new CCTV and body worn cameras, and have increased the visibility of customer support staff and put in place a dedicated 24-stong security team to provide an extra presence in the evenings. The Safer Streets funding bid will really help us to build on all of this this work.

Plans are being funded following a successful bid to Round 4 of the Home Office’s Safer Streets Fund.

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To kick-start the unveiling of a new approach to tackling crime across Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, PCC Kim McGuinness is handing out £180,000 of cash to a range of community causes through her Operation Payback 2022 scheme.

The scheme’s pot of money uses cash criminals have taken from communities, in the Northumbria Police Force area, and puts it back into projects and initiatives that make a difference.

The aim of Operation Payback is to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour, which will ultimately improve lives for residents and lead to fewer victims of crime in the future.

This links in with the Commissioner’s new ‘Fighting Poverty, Fighting Crime’ Plan – which is the new plan for local policing.

Yesterday, the Northumbria Police and Crime Panel signed off the Commissioner’s plan – making it the first plan of its kind to focus on poverty and reducing of crime through boosting jobs and youth opportunities for the region as a way of supporting operational policing.

For a full list of projects benefiting from Operation Payback, click HERE. Examples include:

• Highfield Village Community Action Group, GATESHEAD – funding to help set up a community centre.
• Amble Links FC, NORTHUMBERLAND – funding to purchase training kits to reduce pressures on parents to have the newest kits for their child.
• Mindstars NE, NORTH TYNESIDE – offering children living in poverty with free access to weekly mental health sessions for 6 months to reduce the need for crisis support.
• Sports for Youth, NEWCASTLE – funding activity camps targeted at low-income families
• Escape Intervention Services, SOUTH TYNESIDE –   activity programme to divert young people from ASB and improve their life chances.
• Pallion Action Group, SUNDERLAND – Diversionary activities for young people, most at risk of exploitation.

Put into practice the new ‘Fighting Poverty, Fighting Crime’ plan is about:

Working with local businesses to grown job opportunities across the region – work is the most important way out of poverty.

Work with public transport providers to ensure travel is affordable, reliable and also safe – without good transport links people can’t access opportunities.

Funding positive youth initiatives – giving young people an alternative to anti-social behaviour and working with those who are the biggest risk to others.

Supporting the whole family – commissioning services that not only support those on the cusp of crime but help the wider family to be more resilient.

Building on existing education and intervention projects ran by the Violence Reduction Unit and Northumbria Police – to grow awareness and understanding around healthy relationships and knife crime.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness, said: “I am making it my business to tackle deep-rooted poverty in our region because for too long Government has simply not cared; well I do.

“Crime and its effects hurt our region’s poorest the most and we can’t allow it. It’s sad but it’s true, that more deprived an area, the more crime there is – I want there to be less victims of crime so we have to take this on.

“It goes without saying we need a well-resourced police force but this is shifting the focus to make sure we give our children the best possible.  This has to be better than handing out punishments when they’re older. Any police officer will tell you we can’t arrest our way out of crime.”

“While criminals are likely to come from poorer backgrounds, this is not to say people who are poor are likely to be criminals. It does, however, make you more likely to be a victim of crime. This needs fixing.”

Speaking about the money being channelled into grass-root projects as part of Operation Payback, she added: “A lot of these projects are a lifeline to so many families, especially those facing difficulties.

“There is such brilliant work happening that needs to be celebrated – fantastic organisations that are serving their communities and preventing crime, up and down the North East. This money is to help them keep doing what they are doing. I for one recognise and value what they do and how they are improving lives.”

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