Civic leaders across Cleveland are backing calls for better funding for Cleveland Police.
Council leaders as well as housing chiefs, the fire brigade, health bosses and Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen have backed the latest call from Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner Matt Storey and Chief Constable Victoria Fuller for fairer Government funding.
£20m per year
The letter calling for better long-term funding asks Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood MP for an increase of at least £20m per year over the coming years. That equates to at least 200 extra officers to fight crime across Cleveland.
Police chiefs say they need at least 500 extra officers in the longer-term to tackle a crime rate, which is the highest per head of population of any force in England and Wales.
In a heartfelt letter to the Home Secretary, the PCC and chief constable say the recent deaths of two officers in a crash on the A66 have brought home the problems facing Cleveland Police.
Doing more with less
In their letter, they say: “The challenges facing Cleveland Police did not begin with these tragic events, nor will they be resolved through short-term assistance.
“The fundamental issue remains of a funding model that fails to reflect the reality of policing one of the most crime-affected areas in the country.
“The evidence demonstrates that Cleveland is being asked to do more with less than almost anywhere else in the country.
“There are no police force areas with higher levels of crime than Cleveland that receive less funding than Cleveland Police.
“There are approximately 40 per cent more crimes per police officer in Cleveland than the national average, and despite this level of demand, Cleveland receives around 35 per cent less funding per crime than the average police force.
“To bring officer workloads closer to the national average would require approximately 500 additional police officers.”
The letter also praises PCs Matty Blades and Tom Clough – the “courageous” Cleveland Police officers who lost their lives in the A66 crash in the early hours of Saturday 22 August 2026.
A total of 17 leaders in the public and third sector have put their signatures to the letter, backing calls for better funding.
Read the full letter here