Police will listen to public to rid streets of crime

Durham Constabulary's entire force has been mobilised behind the StreetSafe campaign, which will hand the public opportunities to shape the way their communities are policed.

Issues that affect people's quality of life, including vandalism, graffiti, teenage drinking, late-night noise, abandoned cars, criminal damage, misuse of fireworks and off-road motorbikes will be targeted.

Chief constable Paul Garvin said: "We need to put the community at the centre of what we do and gear up policing around its needs.

"It's about listening more closely to victims and giving them confidence that we are taking their problems seriously by tackling head-on the behaviour and issues that can have such a huge impact on everyday lives.

"We want to make it easier for the public to contact us and provide us with information."

Spearheading the initiative is a team of 13 uniformed community inspectors who collectively have responsibility for every corner of the force's patch.

The inspectors and officers working under them will identify and find solutions to crime and disorder.

"Feedback is a vitally important element. People will be kept in touch and told what we intend to do, often by working with partner organisations, and updated," said Mr Garvin.

In the past 12 months, police in Darlington have worked with the borough council and community groups.

Insp Paul Unsworth said: "We have found that if we engage with people early, problems can be resolved. But without that contact, things fester and escalate and are much harder to deal with."

On a visit to the North-East last Friday, the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, endorsed the campaign. He said: "People want to get back control of their community and that's what we are trying to achieve, which is only done by co-operation."

* A police community consultative group meets in Haughton School on Wednesday, June 9, at 7pm, to hear the views of people from across the town.