THE police and crime commissioner for County Durham has committed to tackling the small number of repeat offenders in Darlington, many of whom have followed in the footsteps of family members.

Ron Hogg said it was more important than ever for the police to work with other social organisations and charities to tackle the root causes of crime as budget cuts begin to bite across the board.

Mr Hogg also raised concerns about the loss of some children’s groups in the town due to budgets cuts, which he said had provided many young people with stability and routine.

The commissioner is based in Durham but spends each Friday in Darlington, working from the town hall and meeting with charities, community groups and residents to find out what they want to see from police in the town.

He said: “We’ve got to try and tackle repeat offenders. The bulk of crime in Darlington is committed by the same set of people.

“Rather than just constantly arresting these people we need to break the cycle of offending, which is often caused by drug problems.

“In the next year we’ll be looking at how we can work with partners to break that cycle. That’s what is important. I was a police officer for 30 years and you see it time and time again, I arrested his dad, his granddad – we need to work with kids to stop them falling into that path.

“The Darlington Play Service closed last week because of a lack of funds and that’s a tragedy. I know that the council just can’t afford to run it anymore, and I’m not knocking the council, but it’s a real shame.

“Some of the stuff they did with the kids was phenomenal and they were working in some of the most deprived areas of the town, doing early intervention with families with problems and difficulties.

“That’s why the play service was so important and I’d hope that the community can come together and try to build something that can help these kids break the cycle.”

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