A CRACKDOWN on wanted criminals saw 43 rounded up in Bolton in just one week.

Police were assisted by special tactical units throughout last week in a concerted push to make arrests. Suspects were arrested on suspicion of sexual assault, domestic abuse, threats to kill, harassment, theft, burglary, dangerous driving and the possession of indecent images. The force-wide Operation Olympus saw 362 suspects arrested throughout Greater Manchester.

Two men, aged 33 and 41, were caught in Bolton on Thursday by officers executing European arrest warrants.Greater Manchester Police committed 150 specialist officers to support the Bolton division, with tactical aid, intercept teams, mounted units and ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) all involved.

Supt Craig Thompson, operation lead, said: “This operation is all about targeting those criminals who cause the most harm to innocent members of the community. “The safety of our residents is paramount and during this week of action, there will be nowhere to hide for those who think that criminality is acceptable. “We have used every resource available to find these criminals and bring them to justice for their crimes.”

On Thursday, June 25, officers in Bolton arrested a 16-year-old boy on suspicion of assault, a 66-year-old man in connection with shoplifting and a 41-year-old man for breaching a restraining order. They were joined by two men, aged 37 and 81, arrested following a search for indecent images, an 18-year-old man suspected of sexual assault and a 31-year-old arrested on suspicion of driving while disqualified.

Several police targets were caught for skipping court or failing to abide by court orders.

Operation Olympus was launched in February, when 250 officers were used on 11 days of action in each of Greater Manchester’s boroughs.

Supt Thompson said: “Operation Olympus sends a clear message to criminals that there will be no hiding place for them and that the safety of our community comes first and will always be our priority. “We leave no stone unturned and use all of our disruption tactics to make life difficult for them.

Source: The Bolton News

Hucknall homes are much safer and less likely to be burgled this year than they were last year as police continue to crack down on the culprits. Residents across the town should feel reassured that police figures show that the number of reported burglaries has dropped by 42 per cent when compared to the same week last year. Police say their success is down to a combination of tactics but the most significant is their working partnership with the community.

“We are part of the community and the community is a part of policing,” said Sgt Simon Scales of Hucknall police. “Our residents are more on-board with us more than ever before as we are experiencing greater cohesion between the public and the police and for this we want to say a huge thank you.”

Hucknall’s figures represent the most significant drop in burglaries across the whole county policing district.

“Burglary in the town is continuing to drop and the downward trend is being maintained,” added the town’s sergeant. “We have seen record breaking falls in the number of burglary offences in the past year and Hucknall is leading the way in its approach.”

This is good news for the town and its residents and reflects the commitment by the town’s police to tackle the issue head-on.

A number of tactics have been employed to reduce the crime levels across the district, not only through special operations but by maintaining a focus on the issue.

“Hucknall is like an island because of the roads in and out of the town which has made it vulnerable in the past as the majority of criminals are coming here from the city or other areas,” explained Sgt Scales. “But by closing our borders using technology, through the ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) cameras sited on the bypass, using the Fatal Four weekly operations as well as using public intelligence and targeting the criminal element, we are proactively protecting the town and its people.”

Other methods adopted by the teams include managing offenders better once they are released from prison to prevent them from re-offending, which is also reaping rewards.

“It’s about staying focused and getting the community to be more aware and report suspicious activity so we can prevent crime too.”

Ashfield District Council’s Lachlan Morrison, Labour councillor for Hucknall Central, said it was good news for the town and agreed it was thanks to partnership working.

“It’s fantastic that the police have brought these results despite suffering significant cuts to the force budget,” said Coun Morrison. “I believe the success needs to be attributed to the efforts of the police and Safer Neighbourhood Teams and the campaigns that raise awareness in our community. “Unfortunately there will always be some people who offend and it’s difficult to change their ways but the news is positive overall.”

Source: Chad

More than 40 officers from six forces were involved in the operation which used automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology to identify offenders travelling into Essex from the Dartford Crossing and on the A13.

Operation Alliance brought together officers from forces throughout East Anglia to pool resources for large-scale intercept events in each county. The forces visiting Essex were Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk.

Motorbikes, marked and covert cars and specialist units were brought together for the operation, which was centred on Moto Services at West Thurrock. A total of 73 vehicles – 10 HGVs, 37 cars and 26 vans – were taken to the services coach park for further checks.

Officers from the Essex Police casualty reduction unit were joined by roads policing colleagues and officers from the commercial vehicle unit, a dog unit and local officers.

Vehicle examiners from VOSA (the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency) were involved in checking poorly maintained vehicles while officers from HM Revenue and Customs checked vehicles for illegal fuels. A number of vehicles were found to be illegally running on red diesel and kerosene, and their drivers were fined.

Twelve vans and cars were seized for being uninsured and one vehicle was confiscated because the driver had his licence revoked in connection with an immigration matter.

Fourteen vehicles were found to have no MoTs, two people were stopped for using mobile phones and eight for not wearing seat belts. Five people have invalid driving licences. Three vehicles were stopped for being overweight.

A number of driver hours offences were detected when HGVs were examined at the check site. One driver was fined £400 and had his articulated truck clamped for 11 hours after it was found he had not taken a full break for three days.

Several commercial vehicles were subjected to immediate prohibitions for a range of defects. One van was in such a dangerous state that some brake discs fell off as it was driven on the check site.

A continental HGV was escorted to the site when the driver stopped to ask a police motorcyclist for help after hearing banging noises from his trailer. When officers opened the rear doors of the vehicle they found a teenager from Eritrea who had stowed in Calais. Officers gave him water before he was arrested into the care of the UK Border Force.

Adam Pipe, casualty reduction manager for Essex Police, said that Operation Alliance was developed to detect and deter criminals using the roads and also to improve road safety.

He added: “I hope this will be the first of many of these large-scale operations across Essex. They bring together specialist road policing officers who are skilled at using ANPR to intercept travelling criminals and drivers who flout the law by driving without valid driver documents, drive cars without MoTs and also put their own safety and the safety of others by not using seat belts or by driving while using mobile phones.”

Source: Herts & Essex Observer