8
Oct
2014
By Calvin at 10:07 GMT, 11 years ago
This news item (edited) is from South Yorkshire Police’s website and is just one example of many excellent operations being carried out by our police up and down the country.........
Police in Doncaster are cracking down on crime this autumn with a three-month operation targeting criminals who are a burden to society by committing crimes including burglary and theft from vehicle.
The operation, dubbed Arrow, began on 1 September, and so far the results have been extremely positive with a reduction of all crime by 6.5%, which equates to 135 fewer crimes when compared to this time last year.
Throughout September, officers have made 68 arrests for a variety of offences including burglary, handling stolen goods, being concerned in the supply of class A drugs and failing to appear at court.
Ten warrants have been executed across the town, with one in Mexbrough resulting in approximately £4,000 of stolen plant machinery being recovered and persons arrested and charged.
Officers have also been visiting pawnbrokers and second-hand businesses daily. On one of these visits, items of jewellery stolen in a burglary were discovered and a person was arrested and charged in connection with these recovered items.
Sergeant Stuart Rowse, leading the operation, said: “Whilst the operation is focussed on tackling crime, we are also providing crime prevention advice to the public to make them aware of the measures and methods that can be put in place to prevent them from becoming a victim.
“Over 15,000 vehicles and 5,000 properties have been checked by officers to ascertain whether they had been left vulnerable or insecure. There were 300 vehicles identified as being vulnerable with valuable items left on display, and 100 properties left with windows or doors unlocked.
“Officers have provided face to face reassurance and advice to over 600 people, issuing crime prevention packs and offering advice on how to protect their homes and property.
“Operation Arrow will run until the end of November and potentially into the foreseeable future. We are committed to continually drive crime down and make Doncaster a safer place to live, work and visit.”
TCPW Comment: When I studied criminology a few years ago I remember being tasked to see how important crime was to the newspapers.
I bought a copy of all the major nationals and a couple of the locals and literally measured column inches of stories. I sorted them out into various subjects, such as fashion, celebrities, health, economy and finance etc and, of course, crime.
All the papers heavily relied on crime to fill their pages, but the red-tops and locals, in particular, revelled in it. I then further analysed the content of the crime stories and found that 95% focussed on crimes committed, the victims and the offenders (crime prevention hardly got a mention). It was also evident that the very rare crimes, such as an elderly lady being badly assaulted during a burglary, got far more column inches than, say, a series of car thefts.
Now you might be thinking that I’m stating the bleedin’ obvious – and you’re right! But I think it’s worth just emphasising the fact that if the newspaper is your only source of news about crime and policing then you’re going to get a rather distorted view of it.
I do wish that the good work of the police and others to prevent crime was given more column inches in our press, but it’s pretty evident that crimes prevented simply don’t make headlines or, seemingly, sell newspapers. That's why I put up these good news stories when I can!
Source: South Yorkshire Police: http://www.southyorks.police.uk/news-syp/autumn-crime-crackdown-doncaster
