Northumbria Police has an unrivalled record for reducing crime over the last 15 years, with a 15.4 per cent fall in the most recent financial year 2007/08- almost 20,000 fewer offences.  The force's ethos is 'Total Policing', a strategy which commits to tackling crime at all levels and in all areas.

Stretching through 2,000 square miles from the Scottish border to Sunderland in the south, the force is divided into six area commands which share local authority boundaries and work closely with communities to define policing priorities, address neighbourhood problems and tackle major crime.

Northumbria Police has more than 4,000 police officers and 2,147 police staff who together provide services for a resident population of approximately 1.4 million.  This population increases through people arriving for work, for shopping and, especially during the summer months, through an influx of holiday-makers who flock to the region to enjoy its bustling urban life and glorious coastline.

The metropolitan area of Tyne and Wear includes the cities of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Sunderland and the towns of Gateshead and South Shields. The world famous Tyne and Millennium bridges link Newcastle and Gateshead which are home to thriving shopping centres, restaurants and a vibrant nightlife.  With the Baltic and Sage arts and music centres, Gateshead has recently become a renowned cultural venue.

Sunderland, by contrast, is one of England's newest cities, once famed for shipbuilding and now the European base for car-making giant Nissan.  

The rural expanse of Northumberland is host to the most northerly section of the Pennine Way and this, as well as the Cheviot Hills, the Northumberland National Park and Kielder Forest Park, bring many people to the area.

On a typical day, Northumbria Police can expect to:

• Receive 4,276 telephone calls
• Deal with 739 '999' calls
• Deal with 1,703 incidents
• Investigate 305 crimes
• Make 245 arrests
• Administer 19 breath tests
• Record 41 fingerprints
• Take 21 DNA samples
• Attend 11 road collisions
• Travel a total of 41,885 miles!