You may have seen our officers tackling rural crime across Northumberland as part of the BBC programme ‘Our Cops in the North’ and joining the rural team is Sergeant Ian Pattison.

Northumberland forms part of Northumbria Police’s largest Area Command and covers a vast area that includes both urban and rural communities. This brings a variety of exciting challenges and opportunities for our officers.

Sgt Pattison talks about his excitement at joining the team, which patch covers Prudhoe, Ponteland and the wider area, and speaks of his dedication to supporting the area and policing issues impacting residents.

He said: “Being part of a Neighbourhood Team is quite unique, you really get to engage with the public and find out what issues and concerns they have.

“Northumbria Police has a huge rural community to police and protect, and the crimes and issues that affect those communities can be very different from those that impact other areas within the force.”

Sgt Pattison joins the local Neighbourhood Team from a Neighbourhood and Crime background having just left policing in Wallsend. He joined Northumbria Police back in 2009 as part of Morpeth Response Team and has big plans going forward for his team.

He said: “We want to continue to build trust and confidence in the policing service we provide.

“I want to ensure residents feel valued and listened to and to continue to build on the strong relationships we have with partners and the local authority.”

Sgt Pattison is familiar with the patch having worked on burglary operations in the area, carrying out a variety of police tactics including covert operations to bring offenders before the courts. One of which included a prolific burglar who was sentenced to 12 years behind bars.

Sgt Pattison finished by saying: “By working together with residents and partners we can continue to help tackle crime and issues in our communities.

“I’m impressed by the experience and the enthusiasm of the team I’m joining and I look forward to bringing that same dedication into our policing going forward and getting stuck in and meeting the public.”

Keep a look out for Sgt Pattison and his team policing the area and remember anyone with any community concerns or issues can contact their local Neighbourhood Team by stopping by their local station or police community base.

You can also visit our website to find alternative ways to report crime and speak to officers: www.northumbria.police.uk

The second episode of the prime-time series ‘Our Cops in the North’ aired last night at 9pm on BBC and if you missed the first two episodes you can catch up on BBC IPlayer here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0006wkx/our-cops-in-the-north-series-1-episode-1