Knife-wielding criminals in Middlesbrough can avoid jail if they accept mental health support, according to reports. The North Yorkshire town has made headlines in recent days over a police operation tackling alleged organised crime, sparked by a head-on collision between two officers and a car of joyriders on the A66.
Divert programme criticised
Scrutiny on the Cleveland force has intensified as a result, including on a scheme launched eight years ago that enables offenders to dodge criminal charges. The Divert programme, which had 1,853 participants between 2018 and 2025, provides "pathway" support including "help with mental health" instead of prosecution for "first time and low-level offenders".
Those eligible for the scheme include offenders who admit possessing blades or drugs, so long as they show remorse and sign a statement promising not to reoffend, The Telegraph reports.
Political backlash
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp slammed the programme as "soft justice at its worst". He added: "Criminals should face prosecution and prison, not a cosy chat with a counsellor. The outbreak of lawlessness and gang violence in Cleveland, which has seen nine deaths in the last few days alone, shows this approach is failing."
Reoffending rates
Matt Storey, Labour Police and Crime Commissioner for the region, has attributed a drop in reoffending rates to the programme, with just 4.7% of participants doing so, compared to 32.9% of all criminals in the area.
Middlesbrough overtook Blackpool as the part of England with the highest crime rate outside of central London this year, with the recent spate of gang-related violence seeing 300 officers drafted in from other forces this month.
Police crackdown
Cleveland Police said it has been tackling organised crime in the wake of the A66 crash, which left seven dead, and some 24 people had been arrested in the crackdown.
Officers said four men, aged 35, 25, 40 and 21, were being held on suspicion of criminal damage with intent to endanger life after a vehicle crashed into a house in Steele Crescent, Middlesbrough, on Thursday morning. They were also being questioned over alleged arson after a caravan was set alight in Atlee Road on Wednesday morning, and a drugs offence.
The force said the men were in a vehicle when they were stopped by police on Kingsley Road in Grangetown on Thursday night. Earlier on Friday, detectives confirmed they were not linking a house fire which killed a seven-year-old girl and her aunt to the incident on the A66.
