Knife-wielding thugs in Middlesbrough 'can avoid jail by claiming mental health support'
Labour MP for Middlesbrough Andy McDonald told LBC this week that young men were being pulled into criminality "without any regard for the consequences."
Knife-wielding thugs in Middlesbrough could avoid prison if they accept mental health support under a local police programme designed to keep some offenders out of jail.
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Offenders who admit possession of blades or drugs can avoid prison by taking part in support programmes instead under Cleveland Police rules, it has been reported.
Chris Philp, the Conservative shadow home secretary, slammed the "cosy" policy which he described as "soft justice at its worst".
It follows a series of incidents in the town in north-east England, including a crash on the A66 on Saturday which left seven dead followed by a house fire killing a seven-year-old girl and her aunt.
However, detectives said on Friday they were not linking a house fire to the crash.
An extra 200 police officers were drafted to Middlesbrough to help investigate after the deaths of nine people over the past six days.
Read more: Cars 'set on fire at vigil for A66 crash dead' as 200 extra police officers sent to Cleveland
Read more: King writes letters to families of police officers killed in Middlesbrough A66 crash
It has been reported that under Cleveland Police's Divert Programme, some criminals can be spared jail and instead receive "help for the “root causes of their offending behaviour”.
The purpose of the programme is to “steer first-time and low-level offenders away from the criminal justice system”.
The programme, which started in 2018, had 1,853 participants from its launch to 2025, the Telegraph reports.
It comes after the Labour MP for Middlesbrough Andy McDonald slammed the recent events as a "whole series of utterly appalling acts of wanton criminality".
He told LBC's Tom Swarbrick there was an "underlying cause" that attracts young men in their teenage years who are yet to be fully formed neurologically.
"They're getting pulled into this appalling set of behaviours and engaging in this performative criminality without any regard for the consequences."
Documents seen by the newspaper report that the programme "aims to steer first time and low-level offenders away from the criminal justice system and towards support. It also signposts offenders towards help to address the problems, which lead to offending."
To be eligible, participants must first admit their offending, show contrition and make a written promise not to re-offend.
Those who do not finish the programme could face criminal charges.
Chris Philp, the Conservative shadow home secretary, described the programme as "soft justice at its worst".
He told the paper: “Criminals should face prosecution and prison, not a cosy chat with a counsellor."
Cleveland Police have arrested 24 people as part of an investigation into organised crime, for offences including drug offences, alleged arson threats and threats to kill.
PC Blades, 37, a husband and father-of-two, and PC Clough, 38, were killed when a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way down the A66 collided with their marked armed response vehicle that was going in the right direction.
Five passengers in the car - Michael Robert Cahill, Jacob Matusiak, both 23, Theo Rae, 17, Cole Robert Worthy, 16, and Makai Saddington, 18 - all died at the scene.
Valentina Foster, seven, and Natalie McDonald, 34, died in the blaze, in which two men, aged 23 and 31, have been arrested on suspicion of murder.
Ms McDonald’s brother has said she was not associated with gangs.
Remnants of fireworks, smoke canisters and balloons were scattered around a field where cars were torched on Thursday night at a balloon release for one of the men who died in the VW Passat.
Scorch marks were visible in the field where people gathered to remember Michael Cahill, 23, at Haswell, County Durham, some 20 miles north of the scene of the crash near Middlesbrough.
Cars that were torched have since been removed but a section of a front bumper remained in place.
A spokesman for the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland said only 19 of the 322 participants in the programme in the year to April 2026 had been carrying a weapon or bladed item.
They added that "current demand" on the criminal justice and prisons system meant there was a "growing need" to resolve less serious crimes "without a court process".
“Cases eligible for diversion schemes and out of court resolutions are carefully considered by police officers, considering the severity of the offence, the history of the offender and the wishes of the victim. An independent scrutiny panel examines the use out of court resolutions by Cleveland Police.”