More than 70 arrests as part of 10 week operation

More than 70 people were arrested as part of Northamptonshire Police’s recent 10 weeks of action.

Op Driven was solely focused on tackling serious violence, one of the Force’s four matters of priority and includes crimes such as robbery and knife crime.

Activity took place across the county, with ten Chief Inspectors each taking charge of a week focusing on either hot spot areas for serious violence or key areas of work that tackle those involved in this type of crime.

In total 72 people were arrested for offences including GBH, sexual assault, possession of weapons, rape, drug supply, burglary and theft of motor vehicle.

Other activity included weapons a sweep at the Racecourse in Northampton where a machete was recovered, one of 47 knives and bladed weapons which were either seized or recovered during the ten weeks.

Officers also made use of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology to identify and stop 95 vehicles which were believed to be used by people involved in violence offences. This resulted in the arrest of 21 people.

Other proactive activity included visiting people believed to be involved in violence offences and engaging with them, with people signing up to Community Initiative to Reduce Violence (CIRV) and agreeing to work with the Youth Offending Service.

Detective Superintendent Andy Glenn was in charge of the operation, he said: “Tackling serious violence is a matter of priority for Northamptonshire Police and we are working hard with partners across the county to do all we can to reduce incidents.

“The ten weeks of activity gave us the opportunity to really focus on how we tackle serious violence, from making arrests to offering diversions to people who want to step away from offending but need support to do so.

“Initiatives such as this give us the opportunity to evaluate new tactics to establish how successful they are before deciding if we want to take it on as business as usual.

“Traditional policing tactics were also used, with officers conducting patrols in hotspot areas and test purchase operations taking place at shops to ensure staff refuse to sell knives to young people.”

Partners from other organisations, including local charities also supported the operation.

Det Supt Glenn added: “Tackling serious violence is not something the police can do alone. A lot of work takes place to identify people involved in these crimes and divert them away from offending. This involves close working with schools, our councils, community groups and the Youth Offending Service, particularly as we work more with children who have been identified as being at risk of being drawn into gangs and other criminal networks.

“Keeping people safe is at the heart of what we do and to do that we rely on the public’s help. I urge anyone who has concerns about someone who may be at risk of offending or being exploited to contact us online or by calling 101. You can also contact independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously via 0800 555 111.”