Criminals are warned

Police to launch new blitz

Police at Lanarkshire Division have launched a new operation to crack down on violent crime, drug dealing, anti-social behaviour and housebreakings.

Officers say these are all issues which have all been highlighted as being important to local residents.

Operation Forward began last week and is a concentrated effort to target those involved in violent crime or other serious crime which negatively impacts on the communities of Lanarkshire. Over an eight-week period, officers from across a variety of departments, including community policing and criminal investigation, will work solely on the community concerns which have been raised during recent consultations with the public.

The new local policing commander for Lanarkshire Division, Chief Superintendent Alan Waddell, said: “In my short time as local policing commander at Lanarkshire, I can see what a vibrant and diverse area it is, and it is my absolute commitment to deliver the best policing I can to people who live, work or socialise in the area.

“The focus of Operation Forward is upon reducing harm and to do so, we will be actively targeting those who commit violence, deal drugs or break into people’s homes.

“Anyone involved in such activity should expect to see my officers in the coming days and weeks.

“These types of crimes have a real impact on people and we are determined to do all we can to reduce the instances of this happening.

“We are proud to have strong relationships with a number of partners across Lanarkshire, and we’ll be liaising with them throughout this operation. For example, we’ll have officers working with local authority colleagues to tackle anti-social behaviour.

“We would be very keen to hear from any local residents who have any particular concerns in their area to contact police to highlight these. Working together with our communities is incredibly important for Lanarkshire Division.”