Crime gangs who bring fear and misery to the communities they target are being warned they will be stopped.
Northumbria Police are piloting a new scheme which will see officers working together with local people to help stop their neighbourhoods being exploited by organised crime groups (OCGs).
Named 'Clear, Hold Build' the operation aims to help communities become more robust to reduce the threat organised crime can pose them.
It is currently being trialled in Ashington, Northumberland, Southwick in Sunderland and the Benwell area of Newcastle.
Today the senior officer in charge of policing in Newcastle and Gateshead has explained how police and the public can work together to stand-up to organised criminals.
And Northumbria Police's Central Area Commander, Chief Supt Helena Barron, has also issued a message to the communities she serves.
She said: "We don't want communities to live in fear that there are people who are committing crime in their area
"What we want is communities who whole feel like they own their own communities. And for them to understand we won't tolerate this in their communities."
Clear, Hold, Build was launched in Benwell earlier this year.
The initiative aims to tackle everything from low level crime and anti-social behaviour right-up to serious organised crime, such as drug dealing.
It is hoped that by 'clearing' a community of this type of crime it can build back stronger.
Chief Supt Barron explained: "It's our response to serious and organised crime. We clear the area, we hold it and build up the community.
"What we found with organised crime groups is sometimes they are exploiting certain areas as it's easy to do that.
"It's about understanding what the issue is, tackling the issue proactively and getting to the root of the problem.
"It's to make it a more sustainable area."
Chief Supt Barron said officers are constantly working to gather intelligence about organised crime in Newcastle and Gateshead.
"Serious and organised crime is a real challenge," she said. "Sometimes we will deal with an incident or a crime and when we link it back it's linked to a much bigger picture. It's quite a complex picture."
And information from the public is invaluable to police as they try to build this picture.
"We work really hard with our communities to get really good intelligence," said Chief Supt Barron.
"In the West End our neighbourhood teams have really good links in those communities and that's not always easy.
"There will be some people in the community that don't want to talk to us, but we pride ourselves on having really good strong engagement."
Meanwhile police are also working with other agencies to identify young people who may be at risk of being exploited by OCGs and be sucked into a life of crime.
Chief Supt Barron added: "We work with our partners and do an awful lot of early intervention and target people on the peripheries of organised crime.
"We have to think much broader about how we are going to target issues like drugs. It's about working with partners, building up community pride and increasing community confidence."
