morpeth stobhill Crime Intelligence

We continue to work in partnership with community safety officers and local schools to effectively address anti-social behaviour (ASB) through a combination of enforcement and engagement. To help steer young people away from ASB, we have introduced diversionary programmes such as Beyond the Ball.

In addition, we maintain close collaboration with Asset Watch, which provides the town centre CCTV systems, to gather evidence of reported incidents and identify those involved, enabling appropriate action to be taken.

These efforts have contributed to a reduction in reports of youth-related ASB to the police. However, this remains a key priority, and we are committed to exploring further strategies to tackle this ongoing concern.

Shoplifting offences in Morpeth remain a key priority. We continue to take robust action by arresting and interviewing offenders, as well as issuing Community Protection Warnings where appropriate.

The ongoing rollout of Shop Watch radio handsets has proved highly effective, allowing retailers to communicate directly with officers and significantly improving response times. This has resulted in the arrest of offenders and the recovery of stolen property in circumstances where this may not previously have been achievable.

Officers continue to provide a visible presence during peak trading hours and periods of high footfall. Engagement with retail premises remains a key focus, including the provision of crime prevention advice and the adoption of new processes to streamline the retrieval of CCTV footage to support investigations. These measures act as a further deterrent to the opportunistic nature of retail crime.

Collectively, these activities have strengthened offender identification, improved evidential quality, and contributed to a sustained reduction in shoplifting offences. Reports remain lower than in previous years, alongside an increase in arrests, charges, and convictions. Despite this progress, shoplifting continues to be a priority, and we remain committed to adapting our approach and exploring new opportunities to further reduce this type of crime.

Burglary offences across Morpeth, Ponteland and surrounding rural areas remain a policing priority. We continue to adopt a proactive and targeted approach to preventing and detecting burglary, supported by robust investigation and enforcement activity.

Officers regularly conduct high visibility patrols in identified hotspot areas and during periods of elevated risk, including evenings and overnight. This is complemented by targeted reassurance patrols following reported incidents to provide visible presence, gather intelligence, and support public confidence within affected communities.

Engagement with residents, community schemes and parish councils remains central to our approach, particularly within rural communities. Officers provide tailored crime prevention advice, promote the use of security measures, and encourage timely reporting of suspicious activity to help prevent offending and identify offenders at an early stage.

We continue to make effective use of forensic opportunities, CCTV enquiries, and digital investigation tools to strengthen evidential quality and support positive outcomes.

Close working with neighbouring teams and specialist departments has improved cross border intelligence and contributed to a number of arrests, charges and detections linked to burglary offences.

These combined efforts look to reduce burglary across the area. While this progress is encouraging, burglary remains a key concern for residents, particularly in rural locations. We therefore remain committed to refining our tactics, responding to emerging trends, and working with communities and partners to further reduce burglary and protect vulnerable areas.