Northumbria Police has launched a new initiative to rebuild public trust in Newcastle, including Jesmond, identifying community confidence as one of its top five priorities in its 2025 strategy.

But among some Jesmond residents, trust is already worn thin. Resident Carrol Jackson voiced her frustration at the police on Facebook, saying:

“At Sainsbury’s in Jesmond a few years ago, kids were threatening to stab the staff who were of a different gender,” she told JesmondLocal via Facebook. “The police told them there was nothing they could do till someone was injured, which is absolutely shocking. The police are useless, and it’s no wonder nobody trusts them.”

Other residents, such as Thomas Gannon, 21, had a more positive view of the police in Jesmond. He told JesmondLocal that he recognised the police try to “ensure a positive balance of competing public interests between those of family residents and the ever-growing student circle,” pointing to their efforts to control noise levels from student parties and the drinking culture within some parts of Jesmond.

Gannon said he thought Jesmond had “a safe and warm atmosphere where all groups feel guarded” thanks to the police.

According to Northumbria Police statistics, anti-social behaviour (ASB) remains one of the most common crimes in Jesmond. As a way to counteract the problem, the force launched Operation Oak during the 2018/19 academic year, with a strong focus on student-populated areas such as Jesmond, Ouseburn and Sandyford.

As part of the initiative, Northumbria Police has worked with Newcastle University and Northumbria University to fund additional patrols on Fridays, Saturdays and Wednesdays during term time, alongside extra policing during peak periods, including Freshers’ Week and Christmas. The aim was to improve response times and better manage incidents of ASB.

However, despite these measures, in November 2021, JesmondLocal reported that Northumbria Police withdrew the dedicated Operation Oak hotline that residents had been using to report anti-social behaviour directly to officers. The force stated the change routed all non-emergency reports through the standard 101 system instead, to improve call handling and officer safety, and stressed that the enhanced patrols would continue as before. However, after the change, residents reported waits of half an hour or more, which risked delaying responses to nuisance behaviour and even deterring people from reporting issues.

As a result, some in Jesmond maintain that Operation Oak has failed to deliver noticeable improvements in antisocial behaviour levels since its launch, and as a result, trust in the force has fallen. The Jesmond Residents’ Association claims there has been little change in ASB in the community, and in a press release, the association said: “Despite the additional patrols, there doesn’t appear to be an improvement in residents’ experience of anti-social behaviour (ASB)”

The association recorded an incident in which behaviour had escalated dangerously, including concrete being thrown through a bedroom window and bottles smashed against neighbouring properties, with some parties lasting from one evening into the next.

“I wouldn’t say that in recent months I’ve noticed a massive difference with police dealing with anti-social behaviour,” Emily Doolan, 21, a student living in Jesmond, told JesmondLocal. “I think Operation Oak appears to focus more on shutting down student parties over anything else, which I think is part of the initiative, but here in Jesmond, anti-social behaviour happens all the time. There needs to be more done about it.”

A College of Policing report noted that, across the country, public trust in police fairness and “general trustworthiness” has fallen significantly in recent years. In England and Wales, for instance, measures of trust dropped sharply in the four years leading up to 2023/24.

A report from POST, the parliamentary think-tank, says that in October 2024, 52% of adults said they had no or not very much confidence in the police to tackle crime locally. This compares to 39% in October 2019, highlighting a significant rise in those lacking confidence in their local force.

The College of Policing has also acknowledged that rebuilding community ties is vital. One of its main approaches is delivering the Government’s Safer Streets programme, which aims to cut serious violence and boost public confidence in both policing and the wider criminal justice system.

In its latest guidance, the College identifies neighbourhood policing as a key priority, with a focus on “carrying out effective problem-solving to tackle the issues that matter the most to local people, having a targeted visible presence in crime and anti-social behaviour hot spots or places with low trust, and building community engagement to identify the crime and anti-social behaviour issues that matter to people locally.”

As part of its drive to strengthen community engagement, Northumbria Police holds monthly drop-in sessions at Jesmond Library, which it says will create “opportunities for contacting, listening and engaging with communities to increase confidence”.

A Police Community Support Officer (PCSO), who asked to remain anonymous, attended the most recent session in November and explained why these events are vital for rebuilding ties and reassuring residents that officers are still very much part of the community.

“We do this [Police drop-in session] once a month because we only work occasionally, and sometimes people have grievances or concerns,” he told JesmondLocal. “We provide them with the opportunity, once a month, to come in and raise any issues they may have. It’s a chance for people to drop in if they want to learn more about what we do and how we can help them.

“When it comes to community relations, we aim to serve every part of the Jesmond population and help signpost people to the right agencies. These drop-in sessions aren’t for reporting crimes, although if someone does want to, we can provide information on how to go about that.”

In a bid to rebuild public confidence, Northumbria Police has expanded its engagement methods and launched a recent initiative, including a trial that allows some reports to be made via Facebook comments.

As new initiatives aim to rebuild public trust in Jesmond and beyond, fresh channels are emerging for police and residents to engage in more effective dialogue, which could prove crucial to restoring confidence among locals.

What are your thoughts on the police and their efforts to rebuild public trust? Are they doing enough, or too little? Share in the comments below.