CLEVELAND PCC HAS A SAY ON KNIFE CRIME IN THE AREA

CLEVELAND'S Police and Crime Commissioner says he doesn’t simply want to be the third worst affected force in the country when it comes to league tables for offences such as knife crime.

- By DANIEL HODGSON Local Democracy Reporter

His words come as he also discussed “good things” that had happened under his first year in charge of holding Cleveland Police accountable as well as hailing an overall 8% reduction in the crime rate (excluding fraud). The PCC also explained why he feels so strongly about changing the funding formula for police forces across the country, which he says would see Cleveland benefit financially.

Matt Storey was elected as PCC in May 2024, having formerly served on Middlesbrough Council as the Labour group leader between 2019 and 2023.

Mr Storey sat down with the Local Democracy Reporting Service at Cleveland Police Central HQ in Hemlington to discuss his first year in his office. He was quizzed on crime stats, how he saw his first year in the job, and other topics.

The role and responsibilities of being one of England’s PCCs is lesser known compared to the more ‘conventional’ politicians such as an MP or even a councillor. As such, Mr Storey was firstly asked about what he saw the role of PCC as.

“My role is to be the voice of the public at Cleveland Police,” adding that he is a “strong voice to hold the force accountable. But also I think, the work that we do through the office, funding local services, like victim support and a lot of the commissioned services that we've got are absolutely critical to local people.”

When asked if he was happy with the first year in office, Mr Storey said: “I think there's been a lot of really good things, a lot of positive things, about my first year, you only have to look at the recent PEEL inspection report, which was significant improvement on what had gone before.” He accepted however, that there is “a lot more to do” and that there are “areas for improvement.”