Cleveland Police launches new MATRIX team

Cleveland Police has today (22 January 2024) launched a new policing team within the force.  The Matrix team will employ 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 Matrix team consists of 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. 

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.

Assistant Chief Constable David Felton said: “We hope the stand-out Matrix branding will provide reassurance to communities across Teesside that Cleveland Police is continuing to reduce and eradicate emerging threats of serious and organised crime.  It should also send a message to criminals that there is no hiding from us and we hope this will deter them from committing offences. The streamlined approach of the Matrix team will allow us to be more agile so we can provide our 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.”