OFFICERS tackling road crime in Essex, successfully arrest eight suspects in connection with stolen vehicles and recover six stolen vehicles and two knives.
Officers from the Road Crime Team (RCT) were supported by colleagues from Operational Support Group (OSG) in a three-day operation that started on Tuesday 11 July, tackling high harm offenders and their use of roads in Essex to facilitate crime.
The operation saw the five forces that surround the M25, and included the Metropolitan Police, carry out similar enforcement activities on the same days to target cross-border criminality with a focus on car theft.
Sergeant David Wood, Essex Police’s Road Crime Team, said:
“Teamwork plays an important role in policing activities.
“This was a fantastic, intelligence-led operation and its success resulted in 19 arrests over three days, thanks to the work put in at the planning stages, with the support of colleagues right across the force.
“The results from the operation show that the Roads Policing Unit don’t just focus on traffic-related offences, but also the types of crimes that harm our communities.
“In particular, we take the theft of vehicles very seriously and know that not only does it have an immediate impact on the vehicle owner and their ability to carry out daily tasks, but it can also impact their livelihood if they can’t get to work.”
Over three days, the RCT and OSG made a total of 19 arrests which included further arrests for drug supply, suspects wanted for domestic abuse and violent crimes and possession of offensive weapons.
PS Woods went on to explain: “We will continue to work hard to disrupt those behind car thefts, to protect car owners and communities and we’ll do that through continued use of intelligence to identify perpetrators, gather evidence and identify patterns of offending.
“Operations like this one give us the opportunity to gather even more intelligence about the people who are using our roads and what crimes they might be committing. And we’d welcome anyone who suspects that someone is using our roads to facilitate serious crimes, to contact us and we will deal.”
During the three-day operation, officers also seized 13 vehicles for having no insurance and a further 15 roadside disposals for offences – some drivers were given cautions and others reported for traffic offences.
If you have information about who is responsible for car theft, call us on 101.
Alternatively, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 to make an anonymous report.
