The Operation Oak phone line for reporting anti-social behaviour in Jesmond is being withdrawn from this Sunday (November 22^nd). Local councillors and residents, who were told of the decision by Northumbria Police in an online meeting held earlier this month, said they were “stunned” by the decision.

Operation Oak is a scheme funded by Newcastle and Northumbria universities to support a higher police presence in Jesmond, Sandyford, Heaton and Ouseburn during peak times. On its information page explaining the initiative, Newcastle University states the purpose is to support both students and permanent residents on matters including noise complaints, safety and crime. The page also explains that during “on-call” hours, students or residents should text Operation Oak on the provided number. In the 90-minute online meeting chaired by Chief Inspector Dan Whyte, he explained that from Sunday, residents of Jesmond will have to revert to using the 101 number that handles all non-emergency incidents. Whyte sought to reassure the meeting attendees several times that all other aspects of the scheme will remain the same, including the increased number of “bespoke” police officers tasked with responding to Operation Oak incidents. Whyte said the decision was made for “numerous” reasons, but said the primary reason was to increase the safety of police officers and victims, by routing calls through a call handler rather than officers being dispatched through the informal phone line. During the meeting Ben Ponton, a Jesmond Resident Association committee member, criticised the decision, detailing his experiences of waiting up to half an hour to get an answer from a 101 call, and then several hours more to get a police patrol response. Resident George Gibson recounted a six-hour wait for a response, and said that without a police witness, he believed Newcastle City Council often failed to act on complaints. Some residents also expressed concerns around whether the call handlers working the 101 line had the requisite training or insight to deal with Operation Oak-related calls. One resident, Lynn, recalled an incident where a 101 call handler did not escalate a call regarding anti-social behaviour but instead referred her to contact the council. Lynn said she had “significant doubts” about the future of Operation Oak if it did not have a dedicated phone line. One resident, who asked not to be identified, expressed concern that the withdrawal of the phone line might mean residents feel compelled to confront students personally, increasing the chance of a situation escalating. Lesley Storey added that the ability to text the dedicated phone line had been a valuable feature for residents who preferred not to make a phone call in the early hours of the morning, or felt unable to provide the detailed information expected on a 101 call. Some residents expressed views that the timing was “ill-advised” in the run up to the busy Christmas period. Sara James said she was aware of doctors living in Jesmond who had needed to cancel operations due to being kept awake at night, and argued that the Operation Oak phone line was the “only defence”. However, Whyte told meeting attendees that, phone line withdrawal aside, Operation Oak would stay the same and residents could still expect the same level of enhanced response. He said Operation Oak-related calls made to 101 would be filtered into their own queue and allocated to the Operation Oak patrols. He said the phone line withdrawal had followed significant consultation. While Operation Oak is valued by many residents, Jamie Knox, an admin of the Jesmond Anti-Social Behaviour Group on Facebook, has previously told JesmondLocal that Operation Oak had not “made a difference” in the community, following changes made at the start of the pandemic. Operation Oak has also been criticised by some students, who argue that the initiative “tars” all students with the same “brush”. On its information page, Newcastle University says that “Operation Oak is also in place to support students.” In reply to JesmondLocal’s request for further comment, Northumbria Police issued this statement: “Protecting the most vulnerable in our communities is paramount and we ensure that best practices are in place to allow people to report concerns to police.”