Arrests made in North Yorkshire rural crime operation

Six police forces teamed up for an overnight rural crime crackdown which saw arrests made and hundreds of vehicles stopped and checked.
Inspector Jon Grainge, of North Yorkshire Police.Inspector Jon Grainge, of North Yorkshire Police.
Inspector Jon Grainge, of North Yorkshire Police.

More than 100 officers from the North Yorkshire, Cleveland, Cumbria, Durham, Lancashire and Northumbria forces worked with volunteers on Operation Checkpoint last night (Thursday).

In North Yorkshire, 60 vehicles were stopped and some were searched, resulting in five arrests for burglary, theft and drug driving, along with two other vehicles being seized, police said.

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Operation Checkpoint first ran in January 2014, and remains the largest operation of its kind in the country.

Police share intelligence and patrol across force boundaries to target criminals, disrupting their use of the roads rural areas.

It involves the use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology to locate vehicles suspected of being connected to crime.

Inspector Jon Grainge, of North Yorkshire Police’s Rural Taskforce, said: “As always, Operation Checkpoint sends a clear message to criminals using the road networks to target our rural communities that their illegal activity won’t be tolerated.

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“We have excellent working relationships with neighbouring forces, and operations like Checkpoint help us share resources and information to clamp down on criminals, wherever they are from and wherever they are going.

“The support of our volunteers, such as members of Mobile Rural Watch schemes, is also an invaluable part of the operation. With their local knowledge, we were able deploy effectively across hundreds of square miles, directing officers to key points of interest and suspicious activity. Once again, we’re extremely grateful for their efforts.

“Local people can be reassured that we our proactive work will continue to make life extremely difficult for criminals, and protect our rural communities.”