Police promise crime crackdown for Sunderland after figures show Houghton has one of the highest burglary rates in the region

According to Northumbria Police, efforts to tackle burglary and drug hot-spots in Sunderland are being stepped up following a “significant increase” in drug crime in the Coalfield area over recent months.

The action has been ordered after figures for the rest of the region reportedly showed a stable level of reported break-ins over the previous two reporting periods.

And while force chiefs have stressed action is being taken on both issues, they have also claimed the rise in recorded drug crimes has been a result of their work so far.

Acting Inspector Patrick Scott said: “The reason behind that is proactive work being done by police in the area.

"That’s led to detection of a large number of drug offences due to the activity of the teams.

“Counterintuitively, it’s probably a reflection of good police work.”

Reflected on stubbornly high burglary rates, he insisted positive progress had been made, adding: “We have tackled this with a new problem solving approach working in collaboration with partners and we have had some good results already.

“Our number one target we managed to arrest earlier this month, so we are starting to see some good results around that one.”

However, despite the force’s assurances, members of Sunderland City Council’s Coalfield Area Committee, which met last week (Wednesday, March 16), remained concerned about the latest statistics.

Cllr Kevin Johnston raised the need for action against repeat offenders.

He said: “I think the police need to be backed up by the courts a lot more than they’ve been doing – we’re frustrated, I’m presuming the police are just as frustrated.”

Officers also noted a “very, very large” proportion of overnight incidents involving sheds, commercial properties and vacant buildings, and insisted they do support victims.

Acting Inspector Scott added: “We recognise it’s one of the most impactful offences that you can have committed against you, it’s awful.

“If someone should unfortunately be a victim of domestic burglary, then all of our victims of crime will be referred to Victims First Northumbria for support.”

Support your Echo and become a subscriber today.

Enjoy unlimited access to all of our news and sport, see fewer ads, experience faster load times, test your brain with daily puzzles and get access to exclusive newsletters.

Your support for our journalism means we can continue telling Sunderland’s stories for generations to come. Click here to subscribe - and click here to get a snapshot of the Echo’s news and sport to your inbox through our email newsletters.