Cleveland Police has taken part in an operation involving seven police forces which saw travelling criminals being targeted across the north of England and Scotland.

254 vehicles were stopped, three people arrested, seven vehicles seized and 17 motorists fined for a variety of offences.

86 officers from North Yorkshire, Durham, Cleveland, Cumbria, Northumbria, Scotland and British Transport Police, took part in Operation Checkpoint yesterday, Tuesday 9th September.

The operation is the third of its kind since January 2014 and is designed to gather intelligence about travelling criminals, disrupt their use of the road network and bring anyone found breaking the law to justice.

Intelligence shows that organised crime groups are targeting rural areas, moving across county borders in the north of England to steal goods, predominantly from rural communities.

The operation took place between 10.30am and 8pm and saw officers using Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology to target vehicles suspected of being connected to criminality, as well as targeting vehicles in suspicious circumstances.

Cleveland Police Assistant Chief Constable, Simon Nickless, said: “This operation demonstrates our commitment to protecting our communities from criminals. Our message to those that are intent on causing misery for our law-biding citizens is that you are not welcome and your behaviour will not be tolerated.

"Working closely with our neighbouring Forces and our partners, we are wholly committed to disrupting any criminality in our rural communities and bringing offenders to justice.”

Police and Crime Commissioner, Barry Coppinger, said: “The work of our officers and our partners in reducing rural crime is extremely important in supporting our local communities. I have spoken to a number of people in the community that are affected by this type of crime and they are very supportive of the work that is ongoing. It is important that we show a united front and I believe that we can make a difference by working together.”

 

RESULTS

 

254 vehicles stopped across the region

Broken down into region:

- Northumbria 61

- Cumbria 106

- North Yorkshire 51

- Durham 12

- Cleveland 13

- Scotland (Gretna/Annan area) 11

 

Cleveland Police stopped 13 vehicles, one of which was seized for having no insurance, two traffic offence reports and four prohibition notices were issued for a variety of offences.

7 vehicles seized across the region, six for no insurance and one suspected of being involved in crime

17 offences were detected across the region including no insurance, carriage of people, no MOT, no road tax, speeding and cannabis possession. Four prohibition notices were issued for defective vehicles.

Numerous verbal warnings were given to motorists for a variety of offences including seatbelt warnings, defective lights and tyres.

British Transport Police assisted with searches of scrap dealers, one dealer in the Hambleton area of North Yorkshire was given a seven day compliance notice after officers discovered discrepancies in relation to the recording of received metal and non compliance with identification procedures.

 


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