The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) for Cleveland took part in all five of the Home Office-funded Safer Streets projects.
The first started in 2020 with the fifth – and final – 18-month project ending in March 2025.
Cleveland OPCC led all five successful bids, supported throughout with a range partners from the public and third sectors.
Key Outputs
Over its five-year life span, Safer Streets managed the following:
Safer Streets 1
Crime prevention measures focussed on the Burn Valley and Oxford Road ladder, in Hartlepool, Newport, in Middlesbrough, and South Bank, in Redcar and Cleveland.
Working in partnership with local authorities and other agencies, the OPCC developed £1m-worth of successful bids.The first Safer Streets programme aimed to target theft and burglary in hard-hit communities.
Safer Streets 2
The OPCC secured £366,289-worth of investment for Stockton Town Centre and the surrounding wards of Oxbridge and Parkfield to spend during 2021 and 2022.
The aim of crime-busting measures like better CCTV and lighting was to reduce the fear of crime, improve residents’ feelings of safety and increase awareness of crime prevention. The programme primarily targeted acquisitive crimes such as theft and burglary.
Safer Streets 3
Safer Streets 3 aimed to combat violence against women and girls (VAWG.) Cleveland OPCC, in partnership with Middlesbrough Council, was given £381,771 by the Home Office to spend in the Middlesbrough town centre and Newport wards.
Safer Streets 4
Pallister Park and Hemlington, in Middlesbrough, shared £696,611.01-worth of Home Office funding.
Initiatives aimed to cut criminal damage, arson, attacks on emergency services, serious violence, burglary, drug use and drug dealing in public places.
Safer Streets 5
The final Home Office Safer Streets project ran from October 2023 for 18 months. It focussed on tackling antisocial behaviour, VAWG and neighbourhood crime in specific areas of Stockton, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough.
Work focussed on the following wards:
- Central and Longlands and Beechwood, Middlesbrough
- Town Centre and parts of Ropner, Stockton
- Victoria Ward, Hartlepool