Ron Hogg (L) Durham Police, Crime and Victims’ Commissioner
Mike Barton (R) Chief Constable
Last February we released ‘County Durham and Darlington: Rural and Safe’.
have done over the past year to make our vision a reality.
The statement recognised that policing in rural areas needs to be different to policing in towns, because the nature of crime in rural areas can be different to crime in urban areas. We emphasised that Durham Constabulary is working in partnership to address crime and anti-social behaviour across the whole of its area, and how important it is that the Police work with rural communities.
Victims of crime are at the heart of what we do in rural areas
Last year we set out this vision for rural policing:
People living in the rural areas of County Durham and Darlington will feel safe. They will know that their concerns about crime and anti-social behaviour will be understood and addressed by the Police and partners. The Statement set out a number of rural policing initiatives that were already underway, and added a number of new ones that were planned for 201617. One year on, this update tells you what we
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County Durham and Darlington contains beautiful scenery, and some of the finest rural places to live, work and visit. Our attractive rural villages, market towns, and working farmland are a real asset. These rural locations also experience crime and anti-social behaviour of a very different character to that in urban areas. That requires an understanding by the Police of the issues faced by rural communities, and responses which show that the Police are familiar with rural problems. Over the past year we have continued to speak to a lot of people in rural areas about the issues they face. Ron Hogg recently changed his job title to Police, Crime and Victims’ Commissioner to reflect the priority he his placing on supporting victims. The Force is very conscious that any crime or antisocial behaviour that takes place in a rural location has a victim at its heart. We are committed to making sure that victims benefit from the Police service they expect.
Last year, some people raised concerns about policing in rural areas These are some of the crimes which are more common in rural areas:
-Theft of livestock & equipment from farms -Worrying livestock -Fly-tipping -Speeding and unsafe driving -Poaching -Trading in endangered species
Our data shows... Durham Constabulary collects data showing levels of recorded crime and anti-social behaviour, and we also conduct regular surveys to find out about people’s experience of crime and policing. This tends to shows that crime in rural areas is lower than across the force area as a whole. Last year, there was a 29% increase in recorded crime in the force area, partly as a consequence of changes to the way some incidents are recorded. However, the increase in our rural areas was significantly lower than for the Force area. The public’s confidence in the Police, and levels of fear of crime, are similar in rural areas to the rest of the force area, as the following table shows: County Durham Rural areas1 and Darlington
-Damage of protected sites and habitats The budget of Durham Constabulary has reduced significantly over the last few years. This has raised concerns about the resources available for rural policing. However, the number of Officers working in our rural areas has remained stable over the past year, and there are more based at Barnard Castle than a year ago. There is also the Special Constabulary, doing a fantastic job working with our rural communities. Last year we also heard from people who found that some of our call-handlers didn’t appear to understand the nature of rural communities when they phoned 101 or 999 to report rural crimes to the Police. Since then they have received extra training.
All crime (Jan – Dec 2016)
694/10,000 population
483/10,000 population
Change since 2015/16
Increased by 29%
Increased by 22%
The public’s fear of crime 2016 (scale of 1-7 where 7 is most fearful)
2.12
2.00
Public confidence in the Police (scale of 1-7 where 7 is best
5.05
5.03
1Data relates to the Barnard Castle and Crook police
neighbourhoods, which cover Weardale and Teesdale
PC Harry Marsh Making sure we are working pro-actively with the rural communities
This data shows a lower increase in recorded crime in rural areas, compared to the Force area as a whole. Much of the increase in reported crime in Durham and Darlington is due to changes to classifications, from incidents to crimes.
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It’s important for the Police to be present, and seen to be present, in rural areas Over the past year we have introduced several new ways to talk to, and listen to, our rural communities. Our Keep in the Know system has enabled thousands of people across the area to receive regular crime updates, information about road closures, and learn about what their local neighbourhood policing team is doing. Over 1600 of them are in our rural areas. Anyone with an e-mail address can sign up to Keep in the Know from the Durham Constabulary website. The Police have made efforts to be present at the summer shows in Middleton in Teesdale, Wolsingham, Stanhope and Hurworth. They are a continuing presence on the streets and roads in our rural areas. Over the past year Ron has visited Weardale and Teesdale at least once a month, listening to local people and providing reassurance that the Police are addressing their concerns. Ron has also started to write monthly columns in the Weardale
Gazette and the Teesdale Mercury. These newspapers are very widely read in our rural communities and the columns provide a great opportunity for our Police, Crime and Victims’ Commissioner to talk about what the Police are doing – and to receive feedback.
Last year we made a number of commitments about rural policing This is what we’ve done since:
Community Safety Responders (CSRs) We are working with our Fire and Rescue, and Ambulance service partners to extend the CSR service to other rural parts of the Force area. CSRs work for Durham Constabulary as PCSOs, County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service as retained firefighters and as first responders for the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS). Our plan is to retain the two CSRs based in Stanhope, and to introduce new CSRs to other rural areas.
Stanhope Neighbourhood Policing Team’s vehicle The 4x4 vehicles give them access to the rural communities
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Cross-border working We are always looking for ways to improve the way that we share intelligence with forces in neighbouring areas. There are good examples of joint operations between forces and the activities of a number of organised crime groups have been thwarted as a result over the past year. We have found that the Farmwatch operation (smiliar to a neighbourhood watch scheme for farmers) has generated a lot of important intelligence which has really helped us to catch offenders. As it operates across the country, it is available to all forces, regardless of boundaries.
Speed cameras Community Speedwatch is an excellent way by which local people can play a key part in identifying drivers who break the law driving through rural communities. We have purchased 20 new community speed camera kits this year and communities across Durham and Darlington are making good use of them, helping to tackle speeding drivers. Communities that wish to have access to them are welcome to use them. Where Community Speedwatch identifies particular issues, or individuals, we will send a Police Officer out to them; and where necessary, we will send our speed vans with cameras that record number plates and lead to people being convicted for motoring offences.
Vehicles This year we bought an additional four wheel drive vehicle with automatic number plate recognition technology for our valuable rural teams to use. Our fleet of police vehicles is modern and properly maintained, across the Force area.
Staff training Our call-handlers have recieved extra training over the past year to help them understand rural issues. This aims to address the concern, which some rural callers expressed, about their understanding of rural needs. Our on-the-ground officers in rural areas have all received new training about identifying specific breeds of sheep, and how to handle them.
ICT All our Officers now use mobile tablet technology
The new shared station at Barnard Castle Home to the Police, Fire Service, Ambulance Service and Mountain Rescue to record crimes and incidents while they are out and about. We have also improved the connectivity between the new equipment and Police systems. These improvements have increased our productivity, and made it possible for Officers to spend more time in communities.
Working in Partnership A really good example of working in partnership will be the new shared station at Barnard Castle, which will be home to the Police, Fire Service, Ambulance Service and Mountain Rescue. The benefits of a shared station are huge: we all talk to each other, all the time, about how to resolve problems. And a lot of our support staff are shared, saving money and reducing duplication. Durham Constabulary is a member of the National Rural Crime Network. This means that we can learn from and share good practice with other forces in rural parts of the country. Our Community Safety Responders are another great example of joint working between the three blue-light services.
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communities as we extend our Restorative Hub. Community Peer Mentors work in pairs to support people facing difficult problems, helping to establish the root cause and empowering them to actively engage with the community by signposting them to the most appropriate support network or other professionals. Ultimately the aim is to make people feel safe and improve the circumstances they have found themselves in. Our Community Peer Mentors will start to work in rural communities shortly. We are also planning to extend the Community Safety Responders from Weardale to other rural areas.
The Police want to work with you to combat rural crime The communities in our rural areas are very wellestablished and there are many families which have lived in rural areas for several generations. They tend to be close-knit, with a real tradition of being supportive of each other. You can also make it harder for criminals to operate by: The Police Cadets have now expanded into Wolsingham School
This is what else we’re planning to do... Everything that we do is continually under review, as we look for more improvements and better ways to make the most of public money. We are always on the look-out for new approaches to improve community safety. Restorative justice is highly valued by victims as it gives them a chance to get the answers, or the explanation they deserve, from the person who committed crimes against them. It helps victims to cope and recover from the impact of the crime and restores their peace of mind. This year we will increase the awareness and implementation of restorative justice available in our rural
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-Keeping your car locked at all times -Keeping your farm buildings secure -Using outside lights in farmyards and outside your house -Talking to the Police when you see them -Attending Area Action Partnership meetings or PACT (Police and Communities Together) and sharing your experiences with others -Talking to your Town, Parish and County Councillors. There may be issues which they are better placed to tackle than the Police
Your intelligence is vital to cutting crime. Please assist us by providing information to the Police, even if it seems trivial.