Chief constable rebukes mayor for ‘unnecessary criticism’

Victoria Fuller chided the mayor for “unnecessary criticism” in a letter publicly shared with key stakeholders, saying: “Please consider the impact of your words and tone on those we all together serve.” She also appeared to pour cold water over his plans for “town guards” in Middlesbrough town centre, saying in bold type: “No force in the country has delegated the range of powers you have described to private security.”

The mayor has responded, saying Cleveland Police live in a “parallel reality” and the town was “drifting towards a no-go zone”. He also accused the force’s senior management of being “concerned with covering its own a***”.

Mayor Houchen had described Cleveland Police as “broken” in the row over town centre guards – a project he announced in September for vetted individuals to tackle crime and disorder in the town centre, which was backed with £1.3m from the Tees Valley Combined Authority but has since failed to properly get off the ground. He claimed Cleveland Police had “proven itself to be incapable of keeping our town centres safe”, accusing it of turning its back on his plans and trying to “frustrate them every step of the way”.

Ben Houchen. (Image: LDRS)

However Ms Fuller wrote: “To be clear: Cleveland Police has not walked away from these proposals. We continue to work with partners to identify the most effective way to deploy additional resources to address crime and anti-social behaviour challenges in Middlesbrough and across the entire force area.”

She later said: “At the time of writing this letter I await any formal proposal. No detailed option, business case or plan for the proposed £1.3m spend has been presented to Cleveland Police, any partnership or board via correct governance and auditable decision-making mechanisms.”

Victoria Fuller, the chief constable of Cleveland Police.

She said she had met with MPs, Mr Houchen and council leaders since she was appointed in July, welcomed constructive engagement with politicians while maintaining operational independence, and supported creative approaches to public safety: “But these must be evidenced [sic] based and well thought out for them to be effective and sustainable, not from announcements made in silo.

“Your announcement on September 4, 2025 came as a surprise to the Force and partners, especially as there had been no prior consultation you were to do it. Before this, we were already working pro-actively with Middlesbrough Council on measures to keep the town centre safe – and we continue to do so.

“Plans were being carefully and collaboratively drawn up to ensure feasibility and value for money,” she added, saying she had told the mayor in October of the force’s performance improvements, “challenging funding position” and policing complexities. She said: “The Teesside area is sadly in the top 10 of many charts and league tables we wouldn’t want to feature in.

“It therefore should be no shock nor surprise that crime follows that trend. That doesn’t excuse crime rates in our area, but it does mean that the solution to those complex issues in our communities is not policing/security alone. Collaborative and constructive partnerships and problem solving are essential.”

She said she had explained “potential variations to your proposals” and how they could be carried out to a colleague of the mayor. She said: “There was no adverse feedback from you at that time when we were together and I can only imagine this was because of the factual and objective evidence of progress that I presented to you.”

She said the force held multiple meetings with partners, including the mayor’s office, to discuss options and recommendations about his proposals: “I have personally met with your chief executive and raised related issues including what needs to happen to expedite this.

“I therefore simply do not understand your accusation that I refuse to meet with you or that Cleveland Police are blocking anything. Recollections clearly differ.”

She asked for the TVCA and Middlesbrough Development Corporation to engage with “established partnership forums” which “provide the right setting and governance for these discussions”.

She said it was important to clarify the limitations of the proposed town guards’ powers: “PCSOs are trained, vetted and integrated into our existing operational model, including partnership arrangements. There is no legislative framework for private security… to for example, seize drugs, police dispersal orders etc, all of which our PCSOs can do.

“The recruitment of any new PCSOs would be quicker and simpler than outsourcing your proposal, as recruitment and training is planned, realistic and workable. Cleveland Police do NOT vet non-police personnel, meaning the relevant security clearance to perform the roles you have described would take time and is outside of our control.

“This has already been explained to those in your organisation on multiple occasions through our engagement with you.”

She pointed to statistics showing overall crime in Middlesbrough town centre had dropped 10.9% in the last year, with criminal damage down 39.7%, violence and theft from the person down 15.2%, business burglary down 12% and shoplifting down 10.9%, saying: “We are solving more crimes this year than the one before and we keep improving.”

She also referred to investment in officers including six dedicated PCs for the town centre and pro-active policing teams in each of the four policing areas. She said: “We are doing our bit.

“I agree that there is still a long way to go. We must strive to improve the confidence of our communities in us.

“Crime needs to keep truly falling because behind every crime statistic is a victim. Not only that, people deserve to feel safe.

“Finally, I must address your claim that Cleveland Police is ‘broken’. This is simply wrong and deeply disrespectful to the hard-working, brave officers and staff serving our communities every day.

“Our recent HMICFRS [His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services] inspection confirms Cleveland Police is among the most improved and one of the higher-performing forces in the country. These achievements deserve recognition and ongoing encouragement – not unnecessary criticism.

“When public figures simply criticise, all it does is embolden those who want to do communities harm. I welcome constructive challenge and community feedback, especially via elected representatives and members of the public themselves so we remain connected with reality and able to continuously improve our policing service.

“But please consider the impact of your words and tone on those we all together serve.”

She continued: “Let’s be clear: Cleveland Police is not dragging its feet. We look forward to being professionally involved in further talks involving the right people… I decide to interpret your recent approach as passion for what you do and so we can hopefully find alignment in a mutual determination to make Middlesbrough and the wider Cleveland area safer and feel safer.”

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said in response: “Having read the chief constable’s letter, my only conclusion is that Cleveland Police is operating in a parallel reality to the one people in Middlesbrough actually live in. Policing in the town is not up to scratch and, as the Gazette reported this week, Middlesbrough now sits fourth in the country for crime.

“The chief constable can point to selective statistics and issue lengthy, Chat GPT-style letters, but they mean nothing if residents do not feel safe, businesses are closing early and footfall is falling. By any common sense measure, the town centre is drifting towards a no-go zone.

“This is not a criticism of frontline officers, who are doing their best in difficult circumstances and are being let down from the top. Since speaking out, I have been inundated with messages from residents and business owners describing the same pattern of inaction, delay and buck-passing.

“That points to an institutional failure of leadership, not isolated incidents. The problem is a senior management culture that appears more concerned with covering its own a*** and managing reputations than fixing what people experience on the streets.

“We have put serious money on the table to fund new town guards in Middlesbrough to back up policing and make the town centre safer. Instead of insisting everything is fine, senior leaders should accept that support and start working with us to get guards trained and on patrols as soon as possible.”