A RETIRING police inspector with nearly 30 years’ service in the force has welcomed the appointment of his successor.
Neighbourhood inspector Kevin Tuck will retire after three decades at Durham Constabulary, with half of his service spent policing Teesdale, Weardale and Crook. He will be replaced by Insp Ed Turner, who will take over the role in July.
Insp Turner will be returning to his roots having served as a sergeant at Barnard Castle between 2006 and 2009, in which time the station received a Chief Constable’s Commendation for a year-on-year reduction in crime.
His most recent post in his 24-year career was as an Inspector for the Cleveland and Durham Specialist Operations Unit which includes Durham Constabulary and Cleveland Police’s road policing unit, dog section and firearms teams.
Insp Tuck said: “There is no better candidate. Ed has a real working knowledge of the area because of his previous role and he understands rural issues. He has policed the A66 and trans-Pennine route for many years. His aptitude, attitude and character are second to none.”
Speaking of his time at the force, Insp Tuck said: “It is unusual to remain in a locality for half of your service but I felt that I had found my niche in neighbourhood policing. I truly believe it is the best job in the force.
“The community, geography, nature and environment all around us inspires me every day. The policing team and the local people make it great.”
![A COUNTY councillor is backing a campaign to get a pedestrian crossing in Staindrop. Frustrated parish councillors in the village summoned their county council representative Cllr George Richardson to their latest meeting to discuss several issues, including the call for a safe way to cross the A688. Earlier this year their request for a crossing was turned down by the county council’s highways officers. Parish council chairman Jonothan Raper described the reasons for the refusal as “spurious” and called on Cllr Richardson to support their campaign. He added: “One of the arguments they made was there is no clear line of desire when they studied the village – well this isn’t a clear line of desire because there isn’t a crossing, people cross whenever they can. “When the lollipop person was there, one of the things I noticed was people would walk all the way down to the lollipop person to cross the road to go to the shop or to go to the school.” He added a problem of parking at the primary school is exacerbated because people are too afraid to walk their children across the road. Cllr Richardson said he had supported previous attempts for a crossing point with the first being made about 15 years ago. He added: “We went fairly well down the road with that and they looked into it. The only recommended place was where the bus stop is and to get the visibility splays, people on the other side of the road would lose their parking. “That didn’t go down well so it just died a death.” Cllr Raper said he suspected the real reason for the officers’ refusal was the cost of installing a crossing. He added that much of the cost could be recovered from savings made on not having to employ a lollipop patrol. Cllr Raper said: “A lollipop person only provides a benefit of crossing for three hours of the day. You are getting 21 extra hours of crossing time [with a pedestrian crossing].” Cllr Richardson said he would raise the issue with the county council’s cabinet member for highways, Cllr John Shuttleworth.](https://teesdalemercury.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/georgeR-120x86.jpg)
