A week of fatal violence, suspected gang retaliation and public disorder has exposed the mounting pressure on policing in and around Middlesbrough, with a small Cleveland force forced to call in hundreds of officers to contain the unrest.
The crisis began on August 22, when a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way along the A66 collided head-on with a marked police car, killing five young men in the Passat and two police officers, PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38.
What initially appeared to be a horrific road crash has since been linked to a wider pattern of suspected serious and organised crime. Police have arrested 24 people since the collision, including seven in the latest operation, over allegations including murder, firearms offences, threats to kill and participation in an organised crime group.
The violence has spilled into local communities. Two people died in a house fire that police are investigating as murder, although officers have not established a link to the A66 crash.
Vehicles have also been used to ram homes, while a man was attacked with a bladed weapon and armed officers were deployed. In Haswell, dozens gathered for a tribute to 23-year-old Michael Cahill, one of those killed in the crash, but the event descended into chaos as cars were raced, deliberately crashed and set alight, with police drones targeted by fireworks.
Residents have described feeling trapped and abandoned. Labour MP Andy McDonald said intimidation had reached a level that felt like “terrorism”, while former Middlesbrough mayor Andy Preston said criminals had become “untouchable”. Cleveland Police, which has about 1,500 officers serving nearly 590,000 people, has drafted in around 200 personnel from neighbouring forces and the National Crime Agency.
Former Met Police assistant commissioner Helen King said the force faced levels of complexity normally seen in much larger metropolitan forces, while warning that its reduced resources made tackling organised crime increasingly difficult.
The turmoil has renewed calls for wider police reform, including plans to reduce the number of forces across England and Wales.
