Police launch Christmas crackdown to tackle criminals in Houghton and Hetton

Dog units and horses could be deployed alongside uniformed officers in an attempt to tackle the worst hotspots in and around Hetton and Houghton.

And bosses hope this year’s (2020) edition of Operation Avalanche will mimic the success of last year’s, which was credited with taking ‘teenage tearaways who torment their communities’ off the streets.

“[It’s] a mixture of plain clothes and high visibility patrols in the area to try and get hold of the kids causing the main grief,” said Sergeant Neil Hudspeth.

“We’re also getting support this time around from the horse mounted section and the dog section, so any downtime they have they’re attending the area.

“We’ve detained a couple of youths over the last month, mainly around the Tesco site [in Hetton], they have been taken home and served with Acceptable Behaviour Agreements (ABAs).”

Sgt Hudspeth was speaking at last week’s (Wednesday, December 9) meeting of Sunderland City Council’s Coalfield Area Committee, which was held by videolink and broadcast via YouTube.

Officers from Northumbria Police are also deploying ‘dispersal notices’, which would allow them to arrest anyone caught returning to a designated area within 48 hours of committing an offence there.

Highlights of last year’s Operation Avalanche included more than 20 vans and cars seized as part of a clampdown on unlicensed scrap vehicles and metal thefts and anti-social behaviour notices issued to more than 20 teenagers.

Sgt Hudspeth also revealed officers are trying to make key trouble hotspots more secure after a spate of incidents, including one in which firefighters were pelted with eggs while tackling a blaze in Hetton.

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