By Sergeant Andy Boyd
‘If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise’, well the male person riding the off road bike was when we jumped out on him as he raced through the Burn!? Rider nil, police one!! Newton Aycliffe Beat Team are getting out as much as they can to stop and seize off road bikes and quads, increased foot patrols have been carried out in relation to these and anti-social behaviour (ASB) in the areas of the Burn, Cobblers Hall and Dandy Cart. You may have seen pictures of seized bikes on our Facebook page!?
Over the last month, the beat team has also nominated 3 targets in the Newton Aycliffe area who cause significant levels of ASB.
These individuals have been getting a platinum service from the beat team with a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to their offending, regular visits to their home addresses, and at the same time trying to address the reasons why they offend. These individuals cause a great deal of harm to the community and place significant demand on the police and partners. The idea is that when the particular problem has been solved, or at least dramatically reduced, that another target takes their place.
There has been some great results in the last month around burglary and theft. A male was arrested on the 14th August whilst breaking into a commercial premises on Heighington Lane after an alert member of the community contacted us regarding banging coming from the address. The police attended and caught the individual, who after admitting to his crime, he was entered into the Checkpoint programme (‘Checkpoint’ is a programme which aims to reduce the number of victims of crime by reducing reoffending, which will also make all our communities safer places to live and work. For more information about this please visit the Durham Constabulary website).
On the 26th August, a male was arrested leaving the scene of a burglary at Vane Road School by the beat team. Again, this was after a call was received from a local resident who reported noises coming from the premises. This male has been released pending further enquiries. On the 29th August a prolific shoplifter was caught by the beat team in Newton Aycliffe town centre, this male was charged with 4 offences and bailed with conditions not to enter Newton Aycliffe.
Common thread here is the fantastic assistance we get in Newton Aycliffe from the community reporting suspicious activity, we are eternally grateful for this support. Compared with July 2018, crime is down by 8% and solved rate up by 4%, we strive to maintain this performance with your help!
We have also attended a number of events around the town including the Horndale Family Fun Day and Tesco Fun Day, again there are a number of photos of these events on our Facebook page, one of our very own Inspector Honeyman who braved having a snake around her neck. Please follow our page to see all the photos and details of future PACT meetings.
