Operation Highway – Day of Action in North Warwickshire

A ‘day of action’ has taken place in North Warwickshire on Friday as part of Operation Highway, an initiative to tackle vehicle crime within the county.
The operation began at the beginning of June and is a county-wide initiative, aiming to reduce vehicle crime through proactive and reactive policing tactics and partnership working.

Car seized
Throughout the day, enhanced patrols have taken place by officers and dog handlers in Nuneaton and Bedworth, crime prevention workshops have been delivered by Safer Neighbourhood Teams, leaflets have been handed out to communities, proactive teams have been out actively searching for offenders and an ANPR operation has been conducted with partner agencies including VOSA and Trading Standards.

PCSO Bewley said “As a result of today’s operation so far, six arrests have been made for offences including taking a vehicle without consent, driving without insurance and for persons being wanted on warrant.  Nine drivers have been reported for offences relating to the condition of their vehicles and seven vehicles have been seized for offences including the driver not being insured or having a licence.”
Inspector Paul Speddings, who is leading on the operation, said: “In line with other forces, unfortunately vehicle crime has become an issue in Warwickshire over the past year, and a lot of these offences are opportunist.  Vehicle crime, in whatever form, can have a huge impact on victims especially if they are dependent on their car or van for their work or family commitments.  We understand the distress and inconvenience that it can cause, which is why we are working with colleagues across the county to carry out this operation.
The aim of today’s operation was to target those suspected to be involved in vehicle crime and to promote crime prevention advice within our communities.
We hope that today’s activities help to demonstrate our determination to reducing vehicle crime within our communities and will reassure the public that we are aware of these offences and are committed to doing everything within our power to tackle them. Today forms just one day of action and will be followed up by further activity in the coming months.  For anyone intending to commit vehicle crime within Warwickshire, please be mindful that Operation Highway is in progress and the chance of you getting caught is real and significant.”
Further crime prevention advice can be found on the Warwickshire Police website here: https://www.warwickshire.police.uk/article/8680/Vehicle-safety