Issues raised prompt fresh operations

This is my first column of 2020 so I would firstly like to wish you all a very happy New Year, and hope you all enjoyed a relaxing and enjoyable festive break.

With a New Year comes fresh challenges from a policing perspective, and that’s something that my team in Sunderland and South Tyneside have embraced over the last few weeks.

Our neighbourhood teams have launched a number of fresh operations in response to issues raised by the communities we serve.

In Hetton-le-Hole and Houghton-le-Spring, as mentioned in the main story on this page, I have been out and about with the neighbourhood team on patrol talking to residents who are concerned about anti-social behaviour in their area.

As a result, we launched Operation Avalanche and I’m delighted that it’s already made a positive impact.

That proactive and problem-solving approach is something we will be looking to continue across Southern Area Command over the coming months.

Similarly in Cleadon and East Boldon, we were made aware of concerns about motorbike-related disorder so we have just launched Operation Finch which will see officers - both in uniform and plain clothes - deployed heavily in hotspot areas.

The most important thing that we would ask the public is to make sure that they report every incident to us via 101 – that will allow us to take timely and robust action against any offenders.

I’m proud to be your Area Commander and my officers are incredibly passionate about protecting the communities we serve.

We’re looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead and will continue to work hard to provide the very best policing service that you expect and deserve.