Police chief hits back at mayor as he claims town becoming 'no-go zone' |
Cleveland Police’s Chief Constable has rebuked Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, saying his criticisms of the force as “broken” were “wrong and deeply disrespectful”.
Victoria Fuller chided the mayor for “unnecessary criticism” in a letter publicly shared with key stakeholders, saying: “Please consider the impact of your words and tone on those we all together serve.” She also appeared to pour cold water over his plans for “town guards” in Middlesbrough town centre, saying in bold type: “No force in the country has delegated the range of powers you have described to private security.”
The mayor has responded, saying Cleveland Police live in a “parallel reality” and the town was “drifting towards a no-go zone”. He also accused the force’s senior management of being “concerned with covering its own a***”.
Mayor Houchen had described Cleveland Police as “broken” in the row over town centre guards – a project he announced in September for vetted individuals to tackle crime and disorder in the town centre, which was backed with £1.3m from the Tees Valley Combined Authority but has since failed to properly get off the ground. He claimed Cleveland Police had “proven itself to be incapable of keeping our town centres safe”, accusing it of turning its back on his plans and trying to “frustrate them every step of the way”.
Ben Houchen. (Image: LDRS)
However Ms Fuller wrote: “To be clear: Cleveland Police has not walked away from these proposals. We continue to work with partners to identify the most effective way to deploy additional resources to address crime and anti-social behaviour challenges in Middlesbrough and across the entire force area.”
She later said: “At the time of writing this letter I await any formal proposal. No detailed option, business case or plan for the proposed £1.3m spend has been presented to Cleveland Police, any partnership or board via correct governance and auditable decision-making mechanisms.”
Victoria Fuller, the chief constable of Cleveland Police.
She said she had met with MPs, Mr Houchen and council leaders since she was appointed in July, welcomed constructive engagement with........