EVERY night before closing, Parvez Akhtar rolls out a huge bale of
razor wire across the floor of his mobile phone shop.
After six burglaries in the space of three years, the businessman says no insurers will touch him and that, with little faith in the police, this is the only way to protect his livelihood.
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Parvez, 51, gestures to the street outside and says: “This place is
crazy. It’s one of the busiest streets in the town and still people
felt like they could come straight in through the front window and
take whatever they wanted.
“Other times they came through the roof and on every occasion the
police weren’t able to do anything.
“I can’t get a single insurance company to cover me so I had to take
things into my own hands. I got the razor wire, which I roll out
every night from a cupboard I built at the end of the counter.
“Now they see it through the window and move on to the next place. They don’t bother me, but I shouldn’t have to do this.
“If you walk down this entire street you won’t find a business that
hasn’t been robbed or burgled at some point. The whole place is
overtaken by criminals who want money for their next drugs fix.
“It’s out of control and I worry that one day someone will come in
here with a gun or a knife and kill me and leave my young children
without a father. That’s no joke.”
This is Parliament Road, central Middlesbrough – an area with one of
the UK’s highest crime rates and this week revealed as the nation’s most dangerous place to live for burglaries.
Last year there were 7,100 recorded crimes in its small cluster of
terraced streets – that’s 530 crimes for every 1,000 people.
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The chronically deprived neighbourhood comes under the jurisdiction of Cleveland Police, which now carries the unwanted tag of “Britain’s worst force” following a 2019 report that was the most scathing in the history of HM Inspectorate of Constabulary.
Tees Valley’s elected Conservative mayor Ben Houchen believes the
force is so dysfunctional it should be disbanded.
At a public event in Middlesbrough last week, Mr Houchen said: “Everybody knows my views on Cleveland Police and they haven’t changed much in the last few years.
“I still think it’s a failed force, it’s the worst force in the country, it needs chucking in the bin and starting again.”
‘Thieves have no fear of the law’
Salman Rasoul, 37, who has seen his pizza shop burgled four times in
the eight years he’s owned it, wouldn’t disagree.
He says: “The police come, they take fingerprints, they make notes and then in a short while they’ll be in touch to say the case has been
closed, unsolved.
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“We need more officers on the streets to make these people think twice before they rob you. It’s happening here every day.
“They’ve come in through the windows and removed slates to let
themselves in through the roof. They have no fear of the law.”
Hurrying along the road, Ian Hill, 35, is an hour late for his
appointment at the housing office. The can of super-strength cider in his hand might be a clue as to why. It’s 11am.
“I just want to get out of this place, it’s completely
mental,” Ian says. “I want to get away and live somewhere else – anywhere will do.
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“I’ve got people kicking in my door at 2am and 5am, all times of day
and night. They’ve taken everything I have: my telly, my clothes, the
lot.
“The place is rattling with crack cocaine, it’s got really bad over
the last couple of years, crack has taken over and the users are
causing mayhem.
“I can’t cope any more. I’m going to the housing office to beg them to put me somewhere else.”
His friend Leonie Prince, 33, says: “It’s getting worse around here
and that’s saying something. Girls are openly selling themselves on
the streets for crack.
“Down on Union Street when it starts to get dark they all come out. You can see them every night and it’s because they’re addicted, that’s
why there’s so much crime here.”
Worrying spike in sexual violence
One of the most worrying trends is a spike in violent and sexual crime
with almost 12,000 such offences committed across Middlesbrough last year.
Gemma Willis, 37, survived a horrific ordeal of sexual violence from
her former partner in another part of the Cleveland force area. He was later jailed for 13 years and she now campaigns to help other victims.
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She said: “The number of sexual crimes being committed, especially in Middlesbrough, is terrifying.
“For every one of those reported, there will be many more that aren’t
because it takes so much courage to come forward and report it.
“Every one of those girls will have to live with what’s happened to
them for the rest of their lives. I still cannot trust a man in a relationship and sometimes scrub my skin raw because I don’t feel
clean.
“It’s about the community and not just the police, people need to step in and report it if they have suspicions. I was beaten and sexually
assaulted in my front garden and people saw what happened but no one intervened.
“I have no criticism of Cleveland Police, the officer in my case was
incredible. But more needs to be done to protect women on Teesside, these figures aren’t acceptable.”
Proud community spirit
Everyone we meet is in agreement that grinding poverty and drug
addiction fuel the spiralling crime rate, but there is nonetheless a proud, caring community spirit.
Susan Gill, 63, runs the Homeless Cafe in Princes Road, central Middlesbrough.
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On the back wall she has pinned a photographic tribute to every one of the cafe’s users who have died over the past three years. There are 33 pictures.
“We need to update it, there have been another four this year,” she says grimly. “All four died within a couple of weeks of each other. There was a bad batch of pills on the streets and it took all their lives.
“I often have to arrange their funerals because no one can find their
family members. It’s heart-breaking.
“Lately we’ve had quite a few amputees as well. It’s fairly common for
intravenous drug users to get terrible infections from injecting their
legs and groins to find veins that haven’t collapsed.
“In a lot of cases their wounds are so bad they’re actually asking to
have their legs removed.
“We have around 700 people referred to us by the police and council
and that’s a lot to cope with for a team of volunteers.
“Of course having so many people in desperate need causes a spike in
the crime rate, but it’s often petty crime like shoplifting.
“Anyone who hasn’t eaten in days and has no clean underwear and no
income will consider stealing. They’re doing it out of desperation, to
preserve their dignity.”
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Evidence of the poverty in this part of Middlesbrough is everywhere.
Earlier in the day, at 8.30am, a line of people begin queuing along
the pavement outside St Oswald’s Church, Grove Hill, to get the best
picks from its food bank.
The deacon, Rev Kath Dean, says: “It’s the same every week, people
like to come on the first morning we’re open just in case we run out
of food.
“It’s a terrible, desperate situation and it’s been made worse by the
pandemic and the cost of living crisis.
“Of course this kind of desperate situation causes crime. We see a lot
of cars broken into, people just hoping to find something of value
inside.”
Force’s history of shame and scandal
Cleveland Police is a force with unprecedented problems. Mark Webster has just become its seventh chief constable in under 10 years following a string of scandals.
One former chief – Mike Veale – is facing a gross misconduct hearing
accused of breaching professional standards during his short stint in
charge.
At a misconduct hearing for another senior officer an allegation
emerged that Veale had been involved in a secret relationship with
Christiana Emsley, the force’s civilian head of standards and ethics.
The 2019 HMI report found the force to be failing in all key areas,
but it has vowed to win back the public’s trust.
Acting Inspector Steven Pattison, from Middlesbrough Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “We have dedicated officers working in central Middlesbrough, including one of our PCSOs who received a British Empire Medal (BEM) for her services to policing and the local community in the Gresham ward and was nominated by more than 240 local people who know her by name.
“Today we carried out two warrants in central Middlesbrough and we
continue to gather intelligence and respond to local peoples’
concerns.
“We work closely with partners including Middlesbrough Council and
housing providers. We recently secured a closure order on a property
in this area, by working with key partners to provide intelligence on
antisocial behaviour linked to an address. The order means it’s an
offence for anyone to return to that address.
“We’d encourage anyone concerned about crime where they live or walk to report it to us so we can build evidence and take action. Call 101 and ask for Middlesbrough Neighbourhood Policing Team.”
Chief Constable Mark Webster said: “I’m aware of the comments made by Ben Houchen. After only a few weeks as Cleveland’s Chief Constable I have been deeply impressed by the hundreds of people who I have met so far.
“Teams are working incredibly hard in difficult circumstances and it’s
important that we work together as senior leaders to support the
frontline policing response.
“I have set a clear direction for Cleveland Police to tackle crime and protect communities and I share a vision to see Teesside succeed.
“I look forward to discussing this with Mr Houchen when I get to meet him for the first time.”
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