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Extra patrols help curb crime

Northumbria Police

1 December 2010


Extra police patrols to help curb anti-social and nuisance behaviour in and around the Jesmond area of Newcastle are continuing.
More officers are out on the streets for overnight patrols during key times in North and South Jesmond as part of an initiative involving local police, councillors and the city's universities.
Officers also support Newcastle City Council's Nightwatch Team when they deal with noisy parties, and act as a deterrent to other crime and disorder in the area.
The aim is to tackle late-night anti-social behaviour and noise and where necessary make arrests when people fail to abide by the law.
The initiative is aimed at ensuring the area - which has a large student population - remains a safe, secure and pleasant place for all sections of the community.
The extra patrols - named Operation Oak - started in January 2009 and ran during the full university year during 2009/10, and resumed again during September to co-incide with the start of term. They will continue throughout the year and are being supported by the universities and ward councillors.
The patrols have helped reduce crime and disorder in the area and have been well received by local residents. During the 2009/10 operation 33 people were arrested for public order offences, with most receiving a caution, fixed penalty notice or warning letter.
The response to disorder was a graded response working in partnership with Public Health and Environmental Protection and Safe Newcastle, with 622 first warning letters sent out to offenders, followed by 129 second warning letters and finally resulting in 69 people receiving Acceptable Behaviour Agreements (ABAs).
The information is always passed to both universities who carry out their own graded response with offenders.
Jesmond and Heaton Neighbourhood Inspector Louise Cass-Williams said: "Operation Oak was launched in response to concerns from residents about noise and anti-social behaviour issues late into the night.
"We worked together with ward committees and the two universities to agree funding for additional patrols during peak times. This included nights when we received the most complaints.
"So far it was been a scheme which has been really well received by residents - that includes students - and has helped reduce disorder in Jesmond.
"There are tens of thousands of students in Newcastle at any one time and only a small number of them ever come to our attention. The results of last year's operation show that in the majority of cases once people have been spoken to once they don't come to our attention again.
"Often all they need is just to be reminded that they are impacting on the lives of the people around them - and that includes other students.
"Jesmond is a desirable place to live and has a strong community spirit. We're seeing some good reductions in crime and disorder in the area and the aim of Operation Oak is to ensure this continues in the right direction by targeting the minority of people who spoil the area for others.
"With us all - the police, partners and the community - working together we can continue to make the area safer for everyone."
The operation helped towards an overall crime reduction of 6.8% in the Jesmond and Heaton sector last year, that's 196 fewer crimes when compared to the previous year, and crime is down again 7.6% so far this year - that's 126 fewer victims of crime so far.