Ray Mallon

Ray Mallon
Mayor of Middlesbrough
Incumbent
Assumed office May 2002
Preceded by	New Office
Personal details
Born	June 1955 Thornaby-on-Tees, Yorkshire
Political party	Independent
Website	[2], [3]

Ray Mallon (born 1955, Thornaby-on-Tees, Yorkshire, England) is the directly elected Mayor of Middlesbrough.

Early life

Ray Mallon was raised in Thornaby-on-Tees, Yorkshire, a working-class town near Middlesbrough and Stockton-On-Tees, the only child of Joe and Pauline Mallon. His father was a coalman and then undertaker and a keen amateur boxer and from an early age Mallon was encouraged to maintain physical fitness. Mallon is a non-smoking tee-totaller.^{[citation needed]}

A keen swimmer, as a teenager he captained the under-20 Great Britain water polo team and went on to represent his country over 50 times. He has said that one of the main reasons he joined the police was because of the opportunity it gave him to train.^{[citation needed]}

Cleveland Police

Mallon joined Cleveland Police on his 19th birthday in June 1974. He first came to national attention in August 1996 as a Detective Inspector at Hartlepool - one of Cleveland's four policing divisions. Mallon had devised a policing strategy which he called "Here and Now' policing based on four principles of Education, Prevention, Punishment and Rehabilitation. The media however focused on the Prevention aspect which would become known as Zero Tolerance policing.^{[citation needed]}

His tactics have been credited with a 43% fall in all crime - burglaries by 71%, vehicle theft and criminal damage by more than 60%. This came to the attention of national Government and led to comparisons with the success of William Bratton, police commissioner of New York.^{[citation needed]} This resulted in a television documentary being made and broadcast on national television in which Mr Bratton was brought to Hartlepool to meet Mallon and compare tactics. Mallon would subsequently pay a return visit to Mr Bratton in New York.

Mr Bratton said at the time: "Just like the RAF used radar for early warning in the Battle of Britain, Ray Mallon is proving that a strategy of timely, accurate intelligence, rapid response, effective tactics and relentless follow up can defeat overwhelming odds." (Readers Digest, May 1997).

In October 1996 Mallon was transferred to the neighbouring division of Middlesbrough and promoted to the rank of Detective Superintendent in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department. He attracted attention again when he announced that if he did not cut crime by 20% in 18 months he would stand down. He met the target within a year.^{[citation needed]}

During this time he was nicknamed 'RoboCop'.

An article in the Readers Digest May 1997 issue about Mallon states: "Some call it 'zero tolerance'. Ray Mallon says it is no more than good, basic policing." Asked on another occasion what he understood by Zero Tolerance policing Mallon said: "It is about the police intervening on the street wherever they see crime or anti-social behaviour. It doesn't mean arresting lots more people for so called 'minor' offences but it does mean that turning a blind eye is not an option."

So high was Mallon's profile that Tony Blair, then leader of the opposition, staged his final photo-call of the 1997 election at Middlesbrough police station and brought his wife Cherie and actress Helen Mirren in support.

Operation Lancet

Operation Lancet was a criminal investigation launched into allegations that Middlesbrough CID detectives had offered drugs to prisoners in exchange for confessions. Initially Mallon supported the investigation and helped produce the evidence which led to two detectives being suspended from duty. At the initial press conference revealing the suspensions, Cleveland ACC Richard Brunstrom said: "We appointed Ray Mallon to implement a culture change. I believe it was because Ray was so successful that this evidence came to light.' (The Northern Echo, August 1997.) Mallon became concerned that officers on the Lancet team were exceeding their remit, using it to settle old scores and were casting a shadow over everyone within Middlesbrough CID. He spoke out against the Lancet team and their superior officers. In November 1997 Ray Mallon was suspended from duty as part of Operation Lancet. He was never accused of handling, dealing or taking drugs. Cleveland Assistant Chief Constable Robert Turnbull said Mallon had been suspended for "alleged activities that could be construed as criminal conduct" and "allegedly passing on information about the inquiry to a third party". An outside force was brought in to oversee Lancet which developed into a major inquiry. At one stage involving dozens of investigating officers from four different forces. Estimates put the total cost to local taxpayers at £8 million.^{[citation needed]}

Lancet caused extreme friction within Cleveland Police where it saw officers investigating fellow officers and relied heavily on the evidence of convicted criminals. In total over 400 criminal allegations were made against 60 officers and considered by the Crown Prosecution Service. On 20 June 2000 the CPS issued a press release stating "It is our decision that prosecutions are not possible at this time as there is insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction against any officer". Although no criminal charges were brought, the Chief Constable of Cleveland, Barry Shaw, announced he would be continuing with an internal disciplinary inquiry codenamed Operation Eagle. Shaw himself became the subject of an investigation into his running of Lancet. This was commissioned by the Cleveland Police Authority following complaints from two members of the public and was codenamed Operation Diamond.^{[citation needed]}

Diamond was carried out by former Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Michael Hedges who concluded: "I specifically recommend that Mr Shaw should be held culpable for abuse of authority and breach of confidence."^{[citation needed]}

A secret session of the Cleveland Police Authority was convened and at its conclusion the chairman, Councillor Ken Walker, announced he would be ignoring CC Hedges recommendations and no action would be taken against CC Barry Shaw.^{[citation needed]}

Throughout his four and a half year suspension Mallon remained popular with the public. He was twice voted "man of the year" by his local BBC radio station and a petition demanding his re-instatement and containing in excess of 30,000 signatures was handed in to the Prime Minister. In August 2001, over a year after being cleared by the CPS of any criminal wrongdoing, Ray Mallon resigned from Cleveland Police and announced he planned to stand for election as Mayor of Middlesbrough. Shaw however refused to accept his resignation until the outcome of Eagle. This hearing was originally planned for October 2001 but was postponed over wrangles about disclosure to February 2002.^{[citation needed]} The Mayoral ballot was set for May 2002 but Mallon could not stand for public office if he was still a police officer. When the February disciplinary hearing was again adjourned he immediately changed his plea to guilty on all 14 disciplinary charges. He offered no mitigation and asked simply to be dismissed. He was "required to resign" and on leaving police headquarters told the media he was innocent but had pleaded guilty because it was the only way he could leave the force in time to stand in the Mayoral election.^{[citation needed]} Labour MP for Middlesbrough Stuart Bell made a speech in The House Of Commons on 6 March 2002 that laid out the charges against Mallon. Bell has since accepted that he is required to work with Mayor Mallon, but does so with some degree of reluctance. Bell also accepts that Mallon has a high profile locally and would be a dangerous enemy, but retains his view that, ultimately, he cannot be trusted to act with integrity when the chips are down.

Time as Mayor

In 2002 he became the first directly elected mayor of Middlesbrough, standing as an Independent. He won with 26,362 votes out of a total of 41,994 cast, and a majority of 17,000, from a turnout of 41.34%. His policies based on social justice and his working-class background were attributed to his success. It was also viewed by some as a protest vote against the Labour party.^{[citation needed]}

Mallon outlined his plans entitled "Raising Hope Reducing Fear'. The title owed much to one of Mallon's favourite films, The Shawshank Redemption. He bought a poster of the film when he visited Bill Bratton in New York and it carries the strapline "Fear can hold you prisoner, hope can set you free'. The framed poster was on the wall of his office at Middlesbrough police station when Tony Blair visited on the eve of the 1997 election. It hangs in his Mayoral office.^{[citation needed]} In 2005, visiting Conservative leader Michael Howard saw Mallon in action when he told police that when making arrests they should focus on protecting the public and themselves rather than the human rights of criminals. Mallon is known to have been courted by both the Labour and Conservative Party however he has remained an independent.^{[citation needed]}

In Mallon's five years as Mayor of Middlesbrough crime has fallen by 20per cent or, as Mallon prefers to equate it, by almost 6,000 victims per year. He has also developed a far reaching regeneration strategy which has seen investors from as far away as Dubai visiting the town. In addition he has overseen the opening of MIMA (the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art) and central square and the pedestrianisation of the town centre.^{[citation needed]} He also led a successful campaign that saw Middlesbrough win one of the eight large casino licences being granted by the Government. Amid concerns from some locals and religious groups, Mr Mallon has stressed no casino will be opened unless the developer agrees to a list of stringent safeguards outlined in the town's "Casino charter". In 2005 he launched the Reduction Agenda, an attempt to persuade people to live healthier lives through cutting down on fatty foods, alcohol and smoking. He has also replaced the Council's Mayoral limo, a six litre Jaguar, preferring to use electric or very low CO2 emission cars. Describing himself, he said "I see myself as a businessman first and a politician last."^{[citation needed]}

In March 2007 Ray Mallon announced he would stand for re-election at the May 2007 Middlesbrough Mayoral ballot. At the forefront of his manifesto is the 'Youth Agenda'. This is an attempt to link up the private, public and voluntary sectors to target young people at birth, primary school and late teens and divert them away from crime and addiction and towards good citizenship, a healthy lifestyle and a can-do attitude. He was re-elected as mayor on 3 May 2007, with 17,455 votes out of 29,753 cast, approximately 10,000 more than his nearest opponent.^{[citation needed]}

External links

• Middlesbrough council profile
• CityMayors profile

Preceded by New Creation

Mayor of Middlesbrough 2002 – Present

Succeeded by Incumbent