Force plan to buy land to face down 'crime family'

Jul 31 2011 by Neil McKay, Sunday Sun

A POLICE force is planning to buy up a plot of land to stop a local family from getting their hands on it... at the taxpayers’ expense.

Durham Chief Constable Jon Stoddart has asked the publicly-funded police authority to approve the purchase of an overgrown field called Italby Paddock alongside allotments at Burnhope, near Lanchester, County Durham.

In a report leaked to the Sunday Sun Mr Stoddart said the purchase was recommended “in order to prevent further criminal activity by an organised crime group (OCG) known as the Wright family.”

The value of the overgrown field is thought to be in the region of £45,000.

If the police authority is advised by lawyers against buying the land then Durham County Council will be asked to step in - again at the taxpayers’ expense.

Mr Stoddart points out that the cost of policing the Wright family alone is approximately £1m per year.

In his report to the police authority he said: “The current level of police investment in this OCG, estimated at £1m per year, is not sustainable. At the heart of the strategy for disrupting this OCG is the desire to restore the village to the local community and build community cohesion and confidence.

“The force believe that acquiring this land will create community capacity to ‘face down’ the Wrights and help to create a culture of self-sufficiency.

“The Wrights are already dumping rubbish along the boundary of Italby Paddock where it abuts houses occupied by them and they have a history of extorting land through threats and coercion.”

Durham Police Authority is now seeking legal advice on the legality of purchasing the land “for the purposes of crime prevention”.