Shabana Mahmood has handed Cleveland Police an extra £2million to tackle serious crime following a wave of incidents in and around Middlesbrough.
The cash injection comes after around 200 officers from outside Cleveland were drafted in to support the force’s crackdown on organised crime following the deadly A66 crash last month.
PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, were killed when a Volkswagen Passat being pursued by police was driven the wrong way along the dual carriageway and struck their marked armed response vehicle on August 22.
Five young men travelling in the Passat were also killed, with Cleveland Police saying they may have had links to “serious and organised criminal activity”.
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Following the tragedy, several serious incidents occurred across Middlesbrough, including vehicles being deliberately driven into homes and violence linked to suspected organised crime.
Police have launched a series of operations and arrests as part of the crackdown, with additional officers drafted in from forces across the country.
The Home Secretary told MPs: “I can also announce today that, in light of the situation the force has faced, we will allocate an additional £2million to Cleveland Police to tackle serious crime in the area.”
Ms Mahmood paid tribute to PC Blades as a “devoted father” and PC Clough as a “hero” to his family.
The funding comes as Cleveland Police grapples with the highest recorded crime rate of any force area in England and Wales.
Labour MP Andy McDonald told the Commons there were around 123 recorded crimes per 1,000 people across the force area.
Mr McDonald also said Cleveland had suffered the largest percentage reduction in full-time equivalent officers since 2010, losing around 13 per cent.
He said: “Police numbers are not the only factor, but a force facing the highest demand in the country needs the resources to respond.”
But Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp branded the £2million uplift “clearly wholly inadequate in the circumstances”.
Mr Philp pointed to a warning earlier this year from Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner Matt Storey that the force faced a £2.4million funding shortfall.
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Mr Storey previously said Government funding “completely fails to deliver the resources required to meet the demand faced by Cleveland Police and falls far short of what is needed”.
Ms Mahmood hit back by accusing the Conservatives of overseeing the loss of more than 200 officers in Cleveland.
She said: “We have increased funding to policing by £2billion since being elected and all forces will receive a real-terms uplift in their funding this year as part of an overall £18.5billion package.”
The Home Secretary added that Cleveland’s funding had increased by £18.3million since 2024, representing a real-terms rise of 4.4 per cent over two years.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham also paid tribute to PC Blades and PC Clough as MPs returned to Westminster.
Mr Burnham said the Government had heard calls from MPs representing the area for discussions over “investment in policing and police numbers”.
Ms Mahmood said ministers would ensure Cleveland Police had what it needed to respond to serious and organised crime.
The funding boost comes as residents have spoken of living in “pure fear” amid gang crime and anti-social behaviour in Middlesbrough.
One resident, who has been given the pseudonym David to protect his identity, told GB News he feared reprisals against himself and his family if his identity was revealed.
“The reason I want to remain anonymous is fear. Pure fear because of reprisals, of what will happen to me and my family,” he said.
“I could imagine within 24 hours I would have a car parked in front of my house. I could even have their windows smashed and my car will disappear.
“This isn’t a society we should be living in, where you fear that your children may be harmed when they go out and play with their friends down the park.
“We’ve got this lawless society marauding around the town and there’s no control over them.”
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