Anti-Social Behaviour - Off Road Bikes

The anti-social use of off road bikes on our roads and paths remains an issue for Newton Aycliffe Neighbourhood Team and we rely on intelligence from the local community who assist us in dealing with this issue. We are consistent seizing on average one off road bike a week and utilise our Drone capability along with the support from the Durham Roads and Armed Policing Unit to follow the riders and safely intercept them. If you have information on where bikes are kept, or who is using them, please contact us directly via this website and a member of the Neighbourhood Policing Team will be happy to hear from you.

Shoplifting - Tackling retail crime and dealing with repeat offenders.

Shoplifting remains one of the top priorities for the Newton Aycliffe Neighbourhood Team. The town is home to many well known supermarkets and also smaller independent providers. The Neighbourhood Team have ownership of all shoplifting offences within the locality and as such use a blend of both overt patrols to deter and offending and also plain clothed patrols to catch perpetrators in the act. Through our excellent links with the town centre security and local businesses, we seek to apprehend suspects as soon as possible after any incident to ensure the recovery of stolen property, positive action through arrest and charging of suspects and upholding the confidence of local businesses. So far in the month of August, 4 Shoplifters have been charged and remanded for a string of offences sending a strong message that this type of offending will not be tolerated. We work alongside the Courts and the Probation service to deter future offending through the use of Civil Orders which provide us with additional powers to remove persons from an area based on previous offending history.

Drug Use and Supply of Controlled Drugs.

We see first hand the impact of illegal drugs within our community and how it links with the exploitation of those who are most vulnerable. The team have a zero tolerance stance on the supply of controlled drugs and since July 2025 have made multiple arrests for the offence of possession with intent to supply. This has led to taking drugs off the streets, disrupting the drug supply line, placing supportive intervention measures to help users navigate away from using drugs and reduce drug related crimes such as shoplifting and other acquisitive crime. With the help of community intelligence and working with our colleagues regionally, we have delivered several strike days whereby warrants have been executed with excellent results.