Neighbourhood Policing Team
I am the Neighbourhood Policing Team Inspector for Newton Acyliffe, Sedgefield, Shildon and surrounding areas. I have worked for Durham Constabulary for 17 years in various roles within the organisation including; Response, Crime Team, Executive Office, and MOSOVO. These previous roles have helped me understand a broad perspective of our communities and how best to serve them.
My aim is to build community relationships, robustly tackle ASB and Crime, protect vulnerable people and ensure my team are visible within the community. I am fully committed to ensuring the safety of the communities and welcome working alongside our partners and residents to achieve this.
Hello, I joined the police in January 2021 and I have worked in response at Spennymoor, Bishop Auckland and Newton Aycliffe before moving onto the neighbourhood policing team at Newton Aycliffe in February 2024. I began my role as neighbourhood sergeant in May 2025 covering Newton Aycliffe and Shildon. The thing I enjoy the most about being a police officer is helping the community and trying to make a positive difference in peoples lives and problem solving. The thing I like the most about being a neighbourhood sergeant is getting to know my community and understanding the issues and working with partners and the community to create positive working relationships. One initiative which I am particularly proud of is my mental health initiative where I am working with Manhealth and Sisters of Support to work with vulnerable adults who need some extra mental health support. My hopes for being a neighbourhood sergeant is to work with the community in order to make Newton Aycliffe and Shildon a safe great place to live, work and travel to for leisure activities. I would like to say to the community that we are here for the Community of Newton Aycliffe and I am passionate about the community I work in working here for the past 4 years my team of PCSO'S and PC'S will always be here to help the however possible.
I am proud to now also cover the Shildon area which I have a knowledge of due to my time spent at Newton Aycliffe and both from working on South Response. I am looking to develop positive links within the community utilising the expertise of my experienced team who have been based at Shildon for a number of years.
I have worked for Durham Constabulary as a Police Officer since 2021 in the role of a Response officer where I have been based at NEWTON AYCLIFFE throughout this time. This has allowed me to build up my knowledge of the area and the issues that arise. I have recently joined the Neighbourhood Team and look forward to focussing all of my attention to the Town. I like to be very proactive and I am out in the Community as much as possible whether this be patrolling in a vehicle, on foot or the e-bikes.
Everyone meet PC 9690 Kirsty Knight.
Kirsty has worked for Durham Constabulary for over two years and is a new member of the Neighbourhood Policing Team as of 2025.
Kirsty is looking forward to getting out and about in the community and addressing issues which impact those within it. Kirsty is dedicated to tackling issues which arise in her area, and uses the phrase ‘my patch, my problem’. When you see Kirsty in the community, please come and say hello.
Hello, I joined Durham Constabulary in 2021 whereby I worked on a Response Team at Bishop Auckland. Following on from this, I joined the Criminal Investigations Department in 2023 and spent 2 years at Darlington enhancing my investigative skills. Having recently joined Newton Aycliffe Neighbourhood Team I am passionate about making a positive difference for the communities I serve and tackling criminality and anti-social behaviour.
In addition to my day job I am also trained as a Public Order Officer and an Operational Football Officer within the Force. If you see me out and about, please say hello and come and tell me about the issues that matter the most within our community.
I am Sarah and I joined Durham Constabulary as a PCSO in 2020 and have been posted in Darlington until November 2025 when I have joined the Newton Aycliffe team.
I love the engagement side of the job but also like helping catch wanted people, shoplifters, finding missing people and making communities safer for everyone. I love being able to engage with the members of the public and businesses as I conduct my patrols.
I love visiting the local schools and nurserys in order to foster good relationships with the Police from an early age in order to steer children from criminality.
During my time in the Constabulary I have also had the pleasure in becoming a police cadet leader. I enjoy working with a bunch of likeminded youngsters, providing answers to the questions they ask and working to help them becoming better.
I am passionate about this job and I am looking forward to my new challenge at Newton Aycliffe and looking forward to meeting you all and making a positive difference when on patrol.
I’m Michaele Dale, a Police Community Support Officer with Durham Constabulary since July 2024. My role focuses on engaging with the public, building trust within the community, and supporting vulnerable individuals. I’m passionate about making a positive impact, helping people feel safe, heard, and supported in their day-to-day lives.
In my time with the constabulary, I spent a month working with local schools during the Knife Angel’s visit to Newton Aycliffe—an experience that allowed me to educate young people on the dangers of knife crime and the importance of making positive choices. It was a powerful opportunity to connect with the next generation and support vital community awareness.
Crimes and priorities
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Priority:
Action taken:
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Priority:
Anti-Social Behaviour - Off Road Bikes
Action taken:
Off-road bikes remain a nuisance in most towns, including Newton Aycliffe. A massive part in assisting us in seizing off-road bikes being used in an anti-social manner is reports from the public.
Over the course of 2026 calls from local residents have been a fantastic assistance in the team seizing several off-road quad/pit bike which have been causing a nuisance to our residents.
Officers from the Neighbourhood Team and response regularly carry out high-visibility patrols, and also on our e-bikes and have conducted a successful amount of stop searches recently.
We pay attention to hotspot locations at all hours of the day and will continue to do so. Most recently the team have had a positive result, whereby whilst utilising our drone, we have followed an off-road bike being ridden illegally by a youth, and have successfully seized the bike and reported the rider for multiple driving offences.
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Priority:
Shoplifting - Tackling retail crime and dealing with repeat offenders.
Action taken:
The Neighbourhood Team have ownership of all shoplifting offences within the locality and as such use a blend of both overt patrols to deter and offending and also plain clothed patrols to catch perpetrators in the act.
Through our excellent links with the town centre security and local businesses, we seek to apprehend suspects as soon as possible after any incident to ensure the recovery of stolen property, positive action through arrest and charging of suspects and upholding the confidence of local businesses.
A vital part of this work is via us attending the local Shopwatch meeting, gathering intelligence from our shopkeepers, and sharing any necessary information with them.
In addition to this, we work alongside the Courts and the Probation service to deter future offending through the use of Civil Orders which provide us with additional powers to remove persons from an area based on previous offending history.
The team are regularly out and about in the town centre, and also other places which have been identified as shoplifting hotspots, and will continue to do so.
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Priority:
Drug Use and Supply of Controlled Drugs.
Action taken:
We see first-hand the impact of illegal drugs within our community and how it links with the exploitation of those who are most vulnerable.
The team have a zero-tolerance stance on the supply of controlled drugs and since July 2025 have made multiple arrests for the offence of possession with intent to supply.
This has led to taking drugs off the streets, disrupting the drug supply line, placing supportive intervention measures to help users navigate away from using drugs and reduce drug related crimes such as shoplifting and other acquisitive crime.
This is and will always continue to be a priority for the team moving forward.
With the help of community intelligence and working with our colleagues regionally, we have delivered several strike days whereby warrants have been executed with excellent results.