Durham City Operational Group wins force's problem solving and prevention prize

“I know these issues aren’t solved overnight, but I’m genuinely pleased to see real progress being made towards making Durham a welcoming place to visit.” 

A project which has resulted in an 87% reduction in crime in Durham City has been crowned the winner of Durham Constabulary’s Prevention and Problem-Solving annual conference. 

The conference celebrates innovative problem-solving projects that have tackled issues in communities and transformed ways of working across police and partner agencies in County Durham and Darlington. 

Seven of the best projects were showcased at the conference, held at The Durham Centre, in Belmont, with one being crowned the overall winner. 

Inspector Dave Clarke and Community Safety Manager Ashleigh White took home the trophy for their project which resulted in reports of anti-social behaviour and other crime in Durham City reduce by 87%. 

They led the Durham City Operational Group (COG) which includes partners from Durham County Council, Probation, CPS, Reconnet Hub, Waythrough, City of Durham Parish Council, Durham University, Social Prescribers, Home Group, NHS Health Squad and charities such as Sanctuary 21 and St Nics. 

Taking second place were Andy Boyd, a former Sergeant at Durham Constabulary, PCSO Michaele Dale, Kate Ward (Durham County Council), Sophie Crawford and Jenny Whittaker (Optimum Skills) who delivered a campaign titled ‘Pointless’ which aimed to educate young people on the risk of carrying knives. 

Working with partner agencies and local organisations, they arranged for the knife angel to be erected in Newton Aycliffe Town Centre to help kick start a programme of awareness activity to warn of the consequences of carrying knives. 

Assistant Chief Constable Richie Allen who closed the conference said: “It was a pleasure to sit and listen to some of the fantastic work ongoing across the force to help make County Durham and Darlington a safer place to live. 

“Every year, officers and staff continue to find innovative ways to problem-solve to reduce crime and improve the lives of local people – I couldn’t be prouder of our workforce.”