Hi there, hope you’ve all had a fantastic summer period, it seems to go by so fast and then we are back into the darker nights and cold mornings in the blink of an eye. We have been really busy, particularly over the last month or two, with small rises in Anti-Social Behaviour in the Western and Town Centre areas of Newton Aycliffe. We have a lot of problems with kids climbing on the scaffolding and onto the roofs above the shops, sometimes putting themselves in great danger with no appreciation of the risk they are putting themselves in. We have ‘detained’ a number of these youths and made parents collect them from the station, offering advice and warnings, but we really need to get the message out there that someone will be seriously hurt if this behaviour doesn’t stop, please reinforce this with your kids?! We have run a dispersal order in the Western area and a number of youths were forced out of the area due to causing, or that we suspected were going to cause, AntiSocial Behaviour. We are also working very closely with housing providers, and youths who repeatedly cause issues in the areas where they live putting their tenancies at risk. We have had a few incidents where a male dog walker has been threatening other dog walkers with a knife. I’m very pleased to say, that with your help, this male was identified and arrested. This goes to show that with community assistance, we can quickly jump on these incidents and put a stop to them, please continue to support us and give us the information we need to effectively keep you safe. There was also a very highly publicised incident in the Woodham area where a knife was also used. Again, a number of arrests were made at the time of the incident and enquiries are still ongoing in order to bring charges. Meetings have also taken place with the housing provider to reduce the likelihood of this reoccurring in the same area. On a positive note, we continue to try and tackle issues in and around the schools. After our week of action in May (which has been shortlisted for a problem solving award), we are still carrying out spot checks at schools, and working with partners to look at innovative ways to make our roads safer. Please be considerate around our schools, especially around drop off and pick up times!? Leave home a touch earlier, park a little further away and walk to school, DON’T park on the yellow lines outside of school premises. Over the next few months we have events in the Town Centre planned for Halloween and Christmas (yes it’s coming around already!). These are fantastic events where we can engage with you, listen to your concerns, and work with you to make Newton Aycliffe a safer place to live, work and visit. Please follow us on Facebook to see what we are up to, and for information on future events and meetings. Take care. Andy Boyd Sergeant 1430 Newton Aycliffe NPT