POLICE plan to use drones to crack rural crime in Teesdale.
Police and crime commissioner Ron Hogg aims to furnish the force with more remote-controlled aircraft to act as an eye in the sky.
It comes as police forces in the region have seen frontline officers cut in recent years as well as a reduction in the amount of cover that can be offered by police helicopters.
Mr Hogg made the announcement last week as he revealed his Rural Policing Statement for 2019, which sets out Durham Police’s policy towards crime in the countryside.
Jon Carling, Mr Hogg’s head of policy and communications, said: “We have some drones but we are keen to get more. It’s a good way of spotting and following-up on crime. They often prove invaluable in having sight of large rural areas quickly.”
They could also help with search and rescue operations, police say.
Mr Hogg and Mr Carling told this month’s meeting of Teesdale Action Partnership that while crime had slightly increased in Teesdale, it was still much safer living in the countryside than in urban areas.
Mr Hogg said: “There were 100.5 crimes per 1,000 people across the force area but for the Teesdale police area, that figure drops to 39.4. Crime is significantly lower here.”
According to the Rural Policing Statement, crimes in Teesdale had risen from 36.9 crimes per 1,000 people in 2016/17. In Weardale, it had jumped from 53.2 in 2017 to 59.6 in the last financial year.
Mr Hogg said the rural police statement, which is subject to a public consultation, has been influenced by last year’s National Rural Crime Survey. Some 600 County Durham residents responded.
He said 76 per cent of rural businesses who took part in the survey in County Durham had been victims of crime.
“That’s a real concern to us,” said Mr Hogg, who added that 40 per cent of people who filled in the survey rated the force as excellent. The national average for rural areas is 26 per cent.
Police in rural parts of County Durham also met response targets more often with 81 per cent of callouts being dealt within official timescales. Across the force, the average was 71 per cent.
Mr Carling said neighbourhood policing was here to stay, adding: “Durham’s budget has been reduced and a lot of officers have been reduced [in recent years]. But I’m pleased to say that the number of police officers and PCSOs in rural areas is now being sustained. We expect that to continue.”
Previous rural police initiatives include buying another 4×4 vehicle, installing numberplate recognition cameras in upper Teesdale and setting up a What’s App group which allowed remote residents to share and receive crime information. Call handlers based in Durham had also been given countryside training after it was reported that some did not know what poaching was.
Dianne Spark, co-ordinator at Utass (Upper Teesdale Agricultural Support Services), thanked the police for recent efforts, praising the response to a spate of burglaries.
Farmwatch and Speedwatch schemes were also key to combating crime in Teesdale, Mr Carling added.
A Farmwatch operation earlier this month – the largest ever held across the region – led to an arrest in Barnard Castle, the meeting heard. The man was arrested after a VW Passat failed to stop for officers and was later picked up by traffic officers. He arrested the driver for driving offences and offences linked to a large amount of cash found in his car. This is being dealt with under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Speedwatch volunteers, who monitor drivers and send out warning letters to offenders, were playing a vital role in the dale, the meeting heard. In rural areas their numbers had gone from 98 in 2016 to 167 in 2017.
Other planning initiatives in Teesdale include working to understand domestic abuse in rural areas and recruiting police community support volunteers to provide an increased police presence. It was important that people continued to report crimes, added Mr Hogg.
Two thirds of crime goes unsolved
SOME 68 per cent of crimes in Teesdale go unsolved but that figure is still better than other parts of County Durham which are also less safe places to live than the dale.
A total of 32 per cent of crimes are “solved” in the Teesdale area – the average for Durham Police as a whole is 25 per cent.
The figure was revealed by Insp Ed Turner, Teesdale and Weardale neighbourhood police inspector, at last week’s meeting of Teesdale Action Partnership.
In response, county councillor George Richardson said: “That’s a lot of villains getting away with it.”
Insp Turner replied: “In Teesdale, that statistic is much better than elsewhere. However, the opportunity [for criminals] is still there as we are a rural and exposed community.”
The meeting was told that an average of 73 crimes were reported a month in Teesdale with 65 of those “victim based” such as assault, harassment, burglary and theft.
“That’s relatively low and we have had no robberies recently,” said Insp Turner.
He added that an average of 9.4 incidents were reported to Teesdale police each day.
Police were also beginning a winter nights operation with extra patrols, Insp Turner said.
