New team sees significant success in first month.

A new Cleveland Police team which was launched less than a month ago has already seen significantly positive results.

The Matrix team, launched on 22^nd January 2024, employs a new way of working to reduce and eradicate emerging threats of serious and organised crime to tackle more criminals and protect communities further, by cracking down on crime.

The team consists of the Tactical Disruption Team (previously known as the Operational Support Unit); Firearms; the Dog Unit; Roads Policing; Casualty Reduction and Road Safety; Camera Enforcement; Football; Public Order; Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN); Search; as well as Operational and Emergency Planning.

Vehicles within the fleet have been rebranded; and the Tactical Disruption Team vehicles will also be bright yellow to provide a highly visible deterrent to criminals and a reassuring presence for the public. 

The re-branding cost a total of £20,000 – this includes vehicle rebranding at a cost of £15,000 and building signage at £5,020; and the public can now already begin to see the results of this new way of working.

Within less than a month there have been:

• Over 100 arrests made for offences including suspected drugs offences, sexual offences, burglary, robbery and serious violence.
• More than £100, 000 cash seized after warrants have been executed and vehicles stopped.
• Class A and B drugs, including amphetamine, crack cocaine, heroin and cannabis worth a combined total of around £36, 000 seized.
• 13 stolen vehicles recovered.
• Support for neighbourhood teams and CID as they executed warrants.

The Matrix Team has also supported the force by assisting with a number of critical investigations, missing people enquiries, fatal and serious road traffic collisions and have delivered casualty reduction inputs to local schools and colleges to raise awareness of road safety to help prevent incidents.

With a One Team ethic, the departments will work together to support the force priorities and achieve their objectives of:

• Providing specialist capabilities including disruption, firearms and canine tactics for spontaneous and pre-planned incidents on a 24/7 basis
• Tackling Serious and Organised Crime through disruption and intelligence gathering
• Providing a directed and targeted proactive presence that can be deployed across the force.
• Reducing the number of killed and seriously injured on the road network by providing a response to:
  • Road Traffic Collisions and subsequent investigation.
  • Proactive Road Traffic enforcement including intelligence gathering.
  • Tasking requiring provision of roads policing tactical options, including proportionate responses to ANPR based on threat, harm and risk.

Superintendent Rachel Stockdale said: “Within less than a month of the launch of the Matrix team, we are already seeing great results and sending a message to criminals that we won’t tolerate their activity.

“The approach of the Matrix team means that we can be more agile and provide specialist capabilities to both spontaneous and planned events as effectively as possible, to tackle criminals and make the communities and roads of Cleveland as safe as possible.”