Cracking Down on Crime – and Cutting Off the Demand That Fuels It

I am pleased to report Durham is leading the way in using roads policing to disrupt organised crime and keep communities safe. 

Last month, officers from Durham Constabulary Armed and Roads Policing Unit arrested a 35-year-old man near Bradbury after finding £100,000 in cash hidden inside his vehicle. Acting on intelligence, our officers stopped and searched the car, seizing the money and arresting the driver on suspicion of money laundering. This proactive operation shows exactly how roads policing and intelligence-led action can disrupt criminal networks and prevent illicit funds from flowing through our region.

Roads Policing is important in the fight against crime and criminality. Our roads connect every part of daily life – getting us to work, school and home safely – but they are also exploited by organised criminals to traffic drugs, weapons, cash, and people through our communities. That is why roads policing is about more than enforcing speed limits; it is about protecting people from harm and death and serious injury on our roads.

Here in Durham, we are proud to be part of a national partnership making a real difference. Operation Topaz, funded by the Department for Transport and supported by the Home Office through the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), strengthens collaboration between roads policing, neighbourhood officers and intelligence teams to stop criminals using the road network to commit and conceal crime.

Across County Durham and Darlington, our roads teams are turning intelligence into results — intercepting drug couriers, recovering stolen vehicles, catching wanted offenders and safeguarding vulnerable victims. Every vehicle stopped, every route disrupted, and every arrest made dents the business model of organised crime.

But enforcement alone is not enough. The drugs trade thrives on demand as much as supply. Every deal on our street’s fuels exploitation both here and abroad. That is why in Durham we take a twin-track approach — tough on crime, but equally committed to prevention, treatment, and recovery. We’re investing in education and early intervention, supporting those trapped in addiction, and working with local employers to introduce workplace drug and alcohol testing policies.

Unlike the “wars on cartels” we hear about abroad, our focus is on real, lasting change — cutting off both the supply of illegal drugs and the appetite that sustains it. By targeting the problem from both ends, we are helping to save lives, reduce harm and build safer communities.

As with the recent success outlined above, I want to encourage residents to keep playing their part. Intelligence is crucial and our officers need your help to inform similar operations. So if you have any information linked to criminality call 999 if a serious offence is in progress or has just been committed or if  someone is in immediate danger or harm, or 101 for non-urgent information, or alternatively you can report online via the Durham Constabulary website or Crimestoppers 100% anonymously.

As part of my continued leadership on this agenda —I will be hosting a Workplace Substance Management Summit in Durham City. The event will bring together industry, government, and policing partners to explore how employers can help reduce drug-related harm. We will examine how workplace testing, intervention and support can reduce demand for drugs, improve safety and strengthen the link between responsible employers and safer roads.

By enforcing the law, reducing demand and supporting recovery, we can make our roads and communities safer, stronger and more resilient to drug related crime and anti-social behaviour.