Prolific criminals in sights of new York police unit

The unit of one sergeant and three constables was created by North Yorkshire Police sevenweeks ago with the task of focusing on “volume crime reduction, top targets and offenders released from prison”.

Extra funding had been given for the scheme to address rising rates of shoplifting, bicycle theft and other forms of acquisitive crime, with officers taken from response teams in other parts of the force.

Charlotte Bloxham, Safer Neighbourhood Inspector for York, said: “It is a different way of looking at how we tackle volume crime, it is not as a result of a significant increase in crime.

“They do quite a lot of plain clothes patrols, because they were on core shifts before and were chained to their radios they are freed from that and can target locations where there are particular problems.

“They have had some really positive results, they have had some where we got targets in custody. We have had some good results in areas where they would perhaps not have done previously because they weren’t in plain clothes.

“They are looking at our most prolific and persistent offenders for all crimes. It is mostly acquisitive crime. They are there as a resource for us to use, if we are having a particular problem we can focus on that.”

According to a recent performance report, “pinch points” for crime in York are in the city centre, with rises in rates of theft from person, cycle crime, shoplifting and offences relating to the night-time economy.

Mrs Bloxham said the proactive team would focus on different types of crime in different parts of the city, with the emphasis more on burglary in the outer suburbs of York.

Meanwhile, York now has a dedicated police team based in the city centre after moving into a former council-owned base in North Street.

The team of one sergeant, a police constable, PCSOs and special constables had been at a site on Clifford Street but were forced to move out due to flooding.

It has now moved back to the city centre, where officers will be more visible to locals, after a spell being based at the nearby Fulford Road police station.

According to the latest performance report, the number of crimes in York has risen by five per cent in the first two months of this financial year but is ten per cent down on two years ago.

The report said there had been a rise in crime and anti-social behaviour (ASB) across North Yorkshire in April but added: “It must be stressed that volumes of crime and ASB recorded were within the normal range and whilst there are some challenges, especially around volume crime, long term both crime and ASB are down.”

Twent-eight police officers are ready for life on the beat in North Yorkshire after completing an 18-week training course.

They were welcomed to the force at a passing out ceremony which brought the total number of new recruits at North Yorkshire Police to 69 this year.

Their initial training course includes law, personal safety, search techniques, public order, first aid and a local community placement, all designed to prepare them for life as a police officer.

Police commissioner Julia Mulligan said: “In tough times we are one of few police forces able to continue to recruit and train new police officers.”

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