Op Coastwatch continues to tackle anti-social behaviour head-on with number of swift arrests made over last fortnight
Operation Coastwatch is continuing to tackle anti-social behaviour head-on – with a number of swift arrests made over the last fortnight.
On Tuesday, police arrested four men following an incident in Cullercoats where a group of offenders were acting in a violent manner on the beach.
It was reported that one offender threatened another with a knife, with various members of the public getting in touch with police.
After they made off from the scene, officers were on hand to scour the area and four suspects, aged 23, 21, 20 and 17, were located and placed in handcuffs. Enquiries are ongoing into the incident.
That swift outcome follows a separate incident on the afternoon of July 9, when a teenager accused of causing disorder in Cullercoats and Byker was detained after officers were alerted to a large group of young people suspected of causing disorder on the coast.
Working in tandem with North Tyneside Council and Nexus, police were kept informed about the group’s movements with CCTV footage showing them boarding a Metro towards Newcastle.
And within minutes, officers were on hand at Chillingham Road station to board the train, speak to the group and arrest a 16-year-old male on suspicion of a public order offence.
These are just the latest interventions from the multi-agency team behind Operation Coastwatch, the annual initiative to tackle disorder and anti-social behaviour at our region’s beaches and coastal areas.
It sees police work alongside the council’s Community Protection Team and Nexus in order to identify and tackle pockets of disorder, and deal with any reported disorder on the Metro network.
Superintendent Sam Rennison, of Northumbria Police, has praised the ongoing work, which coincides with the national ASB Awareness Week.
She said: “Operation Coastwatch consistently delivers results and helps us deal with any reports of anti-social behaviour linked to our beaches and transport networks.
“Everyone wants to enjoy the warm weather hassle-free and in a safe manner – and these arrests are the latest proactive interventions taken to ensure our communities are not bothered with the reckless anti-social behaviour of a minority.
“It is important to recognise the vast majority of people contribute positively to the area, but as is often the case, it is a small number whose behaviour ruins it for everybody else.
“Operation Coastwatch is an example of how everyone can work together to tackle and prevent anti-social behaviour in an effective way. It relies on us working closely with the public, the council and Nexus – and by supporting each other, we can tackle this issue effectively.
“Our Marine Unit also play an invaluable role in helping support this operation, using their expertise on the water to quickly attend incidents and keep any disorder to a minimum.
“I’d like to thank everyone for their ongoing support, and by working together, we can continue to minimise the number of incidents in our coastal areas and at our transport hubs.”
Kim McGuinness, Northumbria Police & Crime Commissioner, added: “We are rightly very proud of our region’s coastline, and want everyone to be able to experience our outstanding beaches and scenic views in a safe and well-behaved manner.
“Anti-social behaviour, or any kind of disorder, will not be tolerated, and this successful outcome reflects the lengths we’ll go to make that happen.
“We’ll continue to proactively police our hotspots throughout the summer, ensuring they remain trouble free and there for all to enjoy.”
North Tyneside Council and Nexus – who both play a key role in Operation Coastwatch – welcomed the recent outcomes and believe the initiative continues to make a positive difference.
Councillor Carole Burdis, Cabinet Member for Crime and Community Safety, said: “These are great examples of how the Council, Northumbria Police, Nexus and other partners are working together to keep North Tyneside safe and secure.
“The recent spell of hot weather has attracted hundreds of visitors to our beautiful coast and the majority have enjoyed it safely and responsibly.
“I thank our staff and partners for their continued hard work, and I hope that our residents feel safer knowing that the Operation Coastwatch team are out there keeping a close eye on their communities.”
Customer Services Director at Nexus, Huw Lewis, said: “Our frontline customer support teams on Metro have a key role to play in supporting the police on the latest Operation Coastwatch.
“The aim is to provide that reassuring presence for people who do need to travel and to deal with any issues of anti-social behaviour and fare evasion.
“Nexus invests £1m a year on policing on the Tyne and Wear Metro system and through excellent joint working with the Northumbria Force we work hard to ensure the system is safe and secure.
“We have more staff on the network than ever before and have invested in a new security team to provide a great customer assurance in the evenings right until the end of services.
“Disorder on Metro will not be tolerated. Anyone who gets caught faces prosecution and a possible ban from the network.”
The four men arrested following Tuesday’s incident remain under investigation with enquiries ongoing. Anybody who has phone footage of the incident is asked to contact police via the ‘Tell Us Something’ page of our website quoting log NP-20220719-1047.
The male arrested on July 9 has since been referred to youth offending teams and will continue to receive support to reduce the risk of reoffending.
If you are keen to help tackle anti-social behaviour and fancy pursuing a career in policing, why not apply to join Northumbria Police? Our police officer recruitment programme is currently open – visit careers.northumbria.police.uk for more information.