THERE has been an immediate impact on reducing vehicle crime across Warwickshire following the introduction of a special team say police chiefs.
The Local Policing Patrol Support Team (PST) was set up in January to support uniformed colleagues tackle new and priority crime issues.
In addition to arresting offenders and disrupting criminal activities, the team, which is made up of one sergeant and six officers, has had a number of positive results.
In the first three weeks of ‘Operation Alternator’ – a new operation to tackle vehicle crime – the PST reviewed more than 300 offences and identified a number of vehicle crime hotspots.
The number of vehicle crimes in the county has more than halved in the first quarter of the year – from 490 in January, to 240 in April.
The PST have also been concentrated on dealing with some of the longest outstanding offenders for offences including domestic abuse.
The team has arrested more than 100 people since it was formed – reducing the number of high risk wanted individuals from 14 to zero.
The number of arrest warrants has been cut from 80 to 16 across the force. These legal orders issued by the courts allow officers to arrest someone who is living in the community but has failed to appear in court for any number of offences.
Team leader Sgt Steve Davies said: “Since the implementation of the Patrol Support Team and the launch of the new operation, we have seen a week on week reduction in the number of offences, which is a really positive step.
“The team was created to address priority issues and the officers were recruited as they all have a strong desire to make a significant contribution to reducing crime.
“We knew they needed to be extremely flexible around when and where they work to maximise their results and so far, we are very happy with the outcome.”
