More Police on Streets

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More Police on the Streets

To further enhance the work of Safe Newcastle this Christmas Northumbria Police will be out in force in the city centre in a determined crack down on crime.

The number of officers policing the streets will be at its highest for years to ensure this busy time of year is enjoyable for all and all type of crime and disorder is kept at bay.

Not only will officers be enforcing the law, they will be at hand to help revellers get around the city and home safely. Their presence will also provide reassurance to the public that they can enjoy a trouble-free night out.

As part of Safe in the City there will be a dedicated police presence at the Monument Metro station on the run up to Christmas, operating between 6pm and midnight and extra British Transport Police will be providing additional patrols on certain nights between 11pm and 5am at Central Station.

One of the busiest dates of the campaign will Friday 18 December, when many people who have finished work for Christmas descend on Newcastle city centre to celebrate. To coincide with this the British Transport Police will be working with Safe Newcastle on an operation which will run for twelve hours. During this time there will be patrols in Central Station and on specific trains heading towards Newcastle and for a two hour period between 2pm and 4pm revellers will be directly targeted in Central Station with the safety messages from the campaign.

During the campaign Northumbria Police are increasing their power to prevent trouble by removing people from the city centre who they believe will commit alcohol related disorder.

These ‘Direction to Leave’ Orders mean that individuals will be ordered out of the area and won’t be allowed to return for up to 48 hours. Anyone breaching their orders can be arrested and police officers will be enforcing this to its full effect over Christmas.

Sergeant Paul Hamilton, from Newcastle Central Neighbourhood Policing Team said “One of the main problems in the city centre is late night drunken, rowdy and disorderly behaviour. Direction to Leave powers mean we can remove people from a particular area and arrest them if they don’t comply.

“By nipping lower level disorder in the bud and getting offenders out of the city centre we will prevent more serious crime taking place”.