Cleveland's Police and Crime Commissioner looks back on 2023
Steve Turner has been reflecting and telling us his hopes for next year
As 2023 draws to a close Cleveland's Police and Crime commissioner has told us what he has been thankful for this year.
With increased demand and tighter budgets Steve Turner has told us he is so proud of everyone working for the force.
The PCC has shared his hopes for 2024 too and said: "I can't talk about 2023 without picking the number one highlight which was the force coming out of special measures for the first time since 2019. The work that's gone on behind that has been absolutely phenomenal.
"We need to continue to target drug dealers, drive down crime, reduce serious violence but we also need to get under the skin of re-offending and make sure we bring that down, because between that and educating young people so they're not involved in crime in the first place will the biggest thing we can do to really make sure that Cleveland is a much safer and better place."
One of his messages is that if we all work together, we can make Cleveland Police's force area one of the safest in the UK. He added: "There's a lot of work to do around education, supporting young people and around reducing re-offending. I'm doing an awful lot of work right now within the criminal justice system and within the prison system."
For many the festive season is a time of fun and celebration, but for some it can often be quite difficult.
The PCC wants us all to look out for each other and said: "There are people that are a lot less fortunate and I don't just mean in monetary terms, there are people struggling with depression, loneliness and all sorts of different things. We really need to look after those people and if you're not sure about somebody, ask them how they are, be honest with them but ask them twice. Don't just ask them once."