Police put brake on travelling criminals

Jun 4 2008 by Dave Black, The Journal

TRAVELLING criminals who prey on isolated rural communities in Northumberland have been targeted in the biggest police crackdown of its kind ever carried out in the county.

Four separate police forces and a number of other agencies have pooled their resources and expertise on the week-long Operation Lockdown which ended early this morning.

It resulted in 11 people being arrested for offences including theft, possession of drugs, drink driving and driving while disqualified. Of the 8,000-plus vehicles which drove past strategically-placed checkpoints, more than 450 were stopped and the occupants questioned after they were flagged up as suspicious by roadside technology.

Operation Lockdown was planned as a major initiative to tackle criminals who travel from Tyneside and other urban areas to steal valuable household goods, scrap metal, lead, diesel, agricultural machinery and quad bikes from remote farms and houses.

Northumbria Police chiefs teamed up with their counterparts in Durham, Cumbria and Lothian and Borders to monitor and stop suspicious people and vehicles travelling around rural Northumberland at night.

The operation has been supported by a host of partner organisations and rural agencies, including special constables, the RAF police, the Forestry Commission, water bailiffs and local farmers – who all played their part in reporting potentially suspect activities. Operation Lockdown has involved the use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology, which can electronically read number plates of passing vehicles and flag up the details if they are uninsured or suspicious.

Police officers in special ANPR cars have been stationed on key routes in Northumberland on every night of the operation, pulling suspicious vehicles in and questioning the occupants.

Last night Supt Janet Richards, of the Northumberland Area Command, who led the operation, said: “The county rightly has a reputation as an extremely safe place and we are determined it will stay that way. Thousands of tourists come to the area every year, along with a small number of criminals who think that the more rural areas here are a soft touch. We are reminding these people that we are out there watching them and using everything in our power to catch them.

“Criminals have no respect for borders and that is why we have joined with neighbouring forces to ensure wherever these people go, we will catch them. The amount of support we have had from other organisations shows people are not prepared to stand back and tolerate crime.

“As well as keeping criminals out of the county, this week has also provided us with a great deal of intelligence which we can progress over the coming months.

“I must stress that innocent motorists who may have passed our ANPR cars have nothing to worry about. We are only interested in those who are intent on coming to our region to commit crime.”

40% cut in crime

OPERATION Lockdown has had an immediate impact on crime rates in rural Northumberland – and also helped to make the county’s roads safer, it was claimed last night.

Supt Janet Richards said crime in the target area had dropped by 40% in the first six nights of the operation compared to an average week over the last three months.

In addition, roadside checks had resulted in five cars being seized because their drivers were uninsured or had no licence, and 51 vehicles were found to be defective and in need of repairs.

Supt Richards said: "This was by no means what the operation was about, but a positive by-product has been the way in which it has helped make our roads safer."

The operation comes four months after The Journal revealed that thefts from farms in Northumberland – including equipment, vehicles and animals – leapt by nearly 70% between 2005 and 2007. The figures followed warnings that gangs could be stealing equipment to order.

Statistics showed that last year there were 203 reports of thefts from farms, up from 121 two years ago. In total, 520 crimes, not including house burglaries, were reported in the three years.