Middlesbrough deserves greater police resources – but it also needs opportunities
29 August 2026: Middlesbrough and West Bromwich Albion players observe a minutes silence in memory of PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough | Image by: PA Images / Alamy
4 min read
Middlesbrough is the second most deprived local authority in England – effective policing is only part of making communities safer
The deaths of PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough were utterly horrifying. Two police officers lost their lives protecting and serving the public in appalling circumstances. There is no excusing the criminal action that caused those deaths, and my thoughts remain with their families, friends and colleagues.
I have also been in awe of the humanity and professionalism of their colleagues in Cleveland Police. In the midst of unbearable grief they have continued serving our communities with extraordinary dedication. They are integral to our community: they are from us, they are us, and they have our unequivocal support.
We must also listen to what people across Middlesbrough and Teesside are telling us. People are shocked and horrified not only by the deaths of two officers, but by the criminal and reckless behaviour surrounding subsequent events. Burning cars, dangerous driving and disorder at a memorial are not acceptable ways to mark anybody's death. Nobody should feel intimidated walking to the shops, catching a bus, or simply living peacefully in their neighbourhood.
But it is equally irresponsible to describe Middlesbrough as a war zone or a lawless town. It is neither. Cleveland Police are doing their job, making arrests, pursuing those responsible and continuing ordinary policing alongside one of the most demanding investigations in the force's history. The overwhelming majority of people here are decent, law-abiding citizens and deserve better than being defined by a tiny minority.
We should confront the reality of crime without exaggerating it.
The latest ONS figures show around 150 recorded crimes per 1,000 people in Middlesbrough. Across the Cleveland Police force area, the figure is 123.4 per 1,000 – the highest recorded crime rate of any police force area in England and Wales.
Yet Cleveland has suffered the largest proportional reduction in full-time equivalent police officers since 2010, leaving the force with 221 fewer officers than it had 15 years ago – around a 13 per cent reduction.
Police numbers alone do not explain crime. But it is entirely reasonable to ask whether a force facing some of the highest demand in the country has the resources necessary to meet it. During this crisis Cleveland has received mutual aid from forces across Britain, and we are immensely grateful for that solidarity. But mutual aid is temporary. Cleveland deserves the permanent policing capacity its communities require.
Cleveland has suffered the largest proportional reduction in full-time equivalent police officers since 2010
The Home Office should address that urgently.
We need properly resourced community policing, with officers who know the neighbourhoods they police and have the time to build relationships, gather intelligence and prevent crime. People should see and feel the presence of policing in their communities, not simply encounter the criminal justice system after something has gone wrong.
But effective policing is only part of making communities safer.
Deprivation does not justify violence, robbery, dangerous driving or organised crime. Those responsible must face the full force of the law. But it would be equally foolish to deny the relationship between deprivation, poor educational outcomes, unemployment, reduced youth provision and the conditions in which criminality can flourish.
Middlesbrough is the second most deprived local authority in England on the government's latest Index of Multiple Deprivation, and has some of the highest levels of young people not in education, employment or training in the country.
That means we need to invest not just in policing, but in alternatives: rebuilt youth services, stronger local government and genuine routes into secure, skilled employment. When young people can see a future for themselves, we make our communities stronger and safer.
And Middlesbrough has enormous assets upon which to build.
Teesside University, named Times Higher Education ‘University of the Year’ in 2025, is training apprentices and graduates for industries ranging from engineering and offshore wind to carbon capture and clean energy. Our digital and gaming economy is growing around businesses such as Double Eleven and Radical Forge. This year the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art hosts the Turner Prize, Middlesbrough is longlisted for UK City of Culture 2029, and the Old Town Hall is being transformed into a home for creative and digital enterprise.
Alongside plans for thousands of new homes, and renewed town-centre investment, these projects offer something more important than regeneration headlines: real opportunity.
Middlesbrough has always been a town that looked forwards. Middlesbrough has always been a town that looked forwards. The medieval de Brus family bore the motto Fuimus – ‘We have been’. When modern Middlesbrough was founded in 1830, it chose instead Erimus – ‘We shall be’.
That remains our task today: to make our streets safer, pursue criminals relentlessly and give every community the investment and opportunity to ensure Middlesbrough does not simply endure, but truly prospers.
Andy McDonald is Labour MP for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East
