Fight against drugs crime continues on daily basis

The spectre of drug use in the area continues to be of concern.

You may have read in the media this week about Gregory King, the Wetherby man sentenced to 18 years imprisonment for conspiracy to supply class A drugs.

It would appear that those involved in supplying drugs seem to be of the opinion that their activity is in some way entrepreneurial but it is not. It is illegal and can lead those using drugs to become involved in crime to fund a growing habit.

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Over many years in the police I have seen on too many occasions to count the damage drugs can do. To a community, to families and to the individual drug user whose dependence on drugs rules their lives.

A constant flow of information arrives at our door which we then use to build a case against those seeking to profit from such activities.

The process can be long. There is red tape to cut through and often it can appear that we are not tackling the issue, but rest assured we are.

Only recently officers from Wetherby, assisted by our North Yorkshire colleagues, attended an address in Wetherby.

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The officers had in their possession a warrant to enter the property. The warrant was applied for and issued by Leeds Magistrates Court under the Misuse of Drugs act.

The result of the warrant was the arrest of two people and the seizure of a significant amount of drugs and cash. The people concerned are now on bail pending the enquiries being completed by officers.

Wetherby police will continue to be robust in their approach to dealing with those who flout the law.

I would take this opportunity to request that readers and residents in the locality continue to report criminal activity. They can be assured that information supplied is treated in the strictest confidence.

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Reports can be made anonymously via crimestoppers or via e-mail, the details of which are on the West Yorkshire Police website.

Only today I received interesting information via post at Wetherby regarding further drug dealing.

It cannot be understated how important this information is as it then enables us to approach the magistrates to grant the issue further warrants.

In other news the police are often overwhelmed by reported incidents emanating from social media, its misuse and persons using it as a way of causing problems for others.

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We at West Yorkshire Police continue to adapt our approach in dealing with these issues. But the point I want to make is this - the fact that something is said about somebody on social media does not automatically mean it is true. People use these means for their own personal agendas.

The inaccuracies of information could and have caused people to either jump on a bandwagon of hate simply based on what someone has posted on a site. No thought has been given to the truth or lack of by the readers behind the original post.

Please use social media sites responsibly and if you are reading something of interest or perhaps of an upsetting nature please take time to explore the validity of the information posted.

In other crime news, there have been a number of burglaries across the area.

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A 37-year-old man from Leeds has been arrested and charged with burglary at an address in Bardsey after the occupant entrusted the man to do some gardening work. He allegedly entered the property and stole jewellery. This has been recovered by police and returned to its owner.

A 34-year-old woman and 49-year-old man, both from Leeds, were arrested in the early part of June following a burglary in the Boston Spa area. It is alleged the two had committed several similar offences in the North Yorkshire area the same day.

In addition to this there have been a further 14 house burglaries across the area throughout June.

Although one burglary should be considered as one too many, it does equate to one every other day across a large area.

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There has also been an increase in thefts from outbuildings and sheds.

Such outbuildings are often easy to enter having been secured with flimsy locks and in many of the cases no locks at all.

It appears that power tools are being targeted which are often expensive but it would appear owners are not taking the appropriate security measures.

Unfortunately there are people out there who make a living from committing crime and the monthly message remains the same.

Reduce your chances of being a victim of crime by taking sensible security measures.