Mayor says town policing not up to scratch
BBCThe Tees Valley Mayor has criticised his local police for a "pattern of inaction, delay and buck passing" which he said pointed to institutional failure of leadership.
Ben Houchen is calling for new, privately funded town guards to back up the police in Middlesbrough and make the town centre safer.
In an open letter, Cleveland Police's Chief Constable Victoria Fuller said the mayor's criticism was "wrong and deeply disrespectful".
She said recruiting more police community support officers (PCSOs" would be a "quicker and simpler" way of dealing with crime in the town.
She also said criticism from public figures emboldened "those who want to do communities harm".
Speaking to Radio Tees Houchen previously said "the biggest issue with Middlesbrough town centre was anti-social behaviour and criminality within the town".
He said he was planning to launch a town guards programme which would be funded by £1.3m and appoint people "with the right skills" who had been vetted by Cleveland Police.
'Simply wrong and disrespectful'
However, Ms Fuller said there was no framework for private security to operate in the way which Houchen had described.
She also said there was no legislative framework for private security to have the range of powers needed such as seizing drugs and giving out dispersal orders.
Ms Fuller also said Cleveland Police "do not vet non-police personnel" which would mean the security clearance for the guards would take time.
She acknowledged there was "still a long way to go" to reduce crime but that describing the force as broken was "simply wrong and disrespectful to the hardworking, brave officers and staff".
Cleveland PoliceIn response Houchen said that police were "operating in a parallel reality to the one people in Middlesbrough actually live in".
He said: "Policing in the town is not up to scratch and as reported this week, Middlesbrough now sits fourth in the country for crime.
"By any common sense measure, the town centre is drifting towards a no-go zone."
He also said he was not criticising frontline officers "who are doing their best in difficult circumstances and are being let down from the top".
He added that senior police leaders should accept support and "start working with us to get guards trained and on patrols".
