Multi-agency project launched following previous success

A multi-agency initiative to tackle organised crime and improve the lives of residents has been introduced in East Middlesbrough.

Project Orme will focus on reducing crime and improving engagement with those who live in three wards in TS3 - Berwick Hills and Pallister, Park End and Beckfields and Brambles and Thorntree.

The project is named after the Orme the Viking statue in Berwick Hills, a local landmark which was designed by schoolchildren.

The approach follows the Home Office’s ‘Clear, Hold, Build’ approach which sees organised criminals and associates cleared from an area, backed up by high visibility patrols and community support.

A similar project launched in Stockton’s Oxbridge and Parkfield wards in June 2023 has seen crime drop by more than a third.

The Project will help to rejuvenate the areas; with residents being supported by agencies including Cleveland Police, the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit Network (NEROCU), Middlesbrough Council, Thirteen Group, Cleveland Fire Brigade, educational establishments, Probation Service, Youth Justice, Public Health and North East Ambulance Service (NEAS).

Serious and organised crime remains a focus not only for police, but communities will also be encouraged to share information with authorities, so that criminals can be disrupted and offenders brought to justice.