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A police force is being given an extra £2m to tackle serious crime after the death of two police officers and five young men in a crash unleashed a spate of crimes, the home secretary has announced.
Shabana Mahmood pledged the funding after Prime Minister Andy Burnham paid tribute to the officers killed, and in light of the challenges faced by Cleveland Police following the seven deaths on the A66 near Middlesbrough on 22 August.
PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough died when a Volkswagen Passat going the wrong way on the A66 at South Bank hit their vehicle. The five men in the Volkswagen also died.
The force has since arrested 27 people for activities linked to "serious and organised crime".
About 200 police officers from outside Cleveland Police have been drafted in to help the force tackle organised crime following the crash.
In the days following the deaths, police dealt with a series of incidents including homes being rammed and vehicles set on fire at a vigil.
Mahmood said "lawlessness of any kind" would "never be tolerated".
"In light of the situation the force has faced, we will allocate an additional £2m to Cleveland Police to tackle serious crime in the area," she said.
She paid tribute to the two officers who died in the A66 crash and said she recognised how "unnerving" the current climate would be for the "law abiding citizens" in the community.
She said: "We will do our best to support the Middlesbrough community, which is hurting and grieving right now, and we hear the call from the members of this house representing it for a discussion about investment in policing and police numbers."
