Police tackling road crime in West Berks
Operation ‘to make roads in Newbury safe for law-abiding residents’
OFFICERS from the Roads Policing Unit and West Berkshire local policing area joined forces to tackle crime on the roads.
Operation Titan is the Roads Policing response to denying criminals the use of the roads through specialist resources and tactics.
Police officers took to the streets last Wednesday to “identify, disrupt and deter” those involved in crimes in West Berkshire.
During the operation, a 27-year-old Newbury man was arrested on suspicion of driving a vehicle with excess alcohol. He was also found to be driving while disqualified.
Officers also found a large quantity of what is believed to be Class A drugs worth thousands of pounds following a pursuit of a vehicle through Newbury.
Insp Simon Hills, of the Joint Operations Roads Policing Unit, said: “This type of joint working with our local colleagues is essential in denying criminals the use of the roads.
“The purpose of this operation was to use intelligence and technology to identify those potentially involved in criminal behaviour, detect and prevent potential offending.”
He added: “This type of operation is designed to make the roads in Newbury safe for our law-abiding residents and visitors to use without the fear of crime.
“The operation has been a success and my message to those intent on committing crime is quite simple – we will be running more of these operations across Hampshire and Thames Valley, we will target you and we will seek to free our roads from those who present the most risk to all of us.”
Five drivers were also reported for using a vehicle with no insurance and four of the vehicles were seized.
In addition, one driver was also reported for having no insurance and driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence and their vehicle was also seized.
Another driver was issued a fixed penalty for having no current MOT on their vehicle.
Officers also patrolled areas within Newbury to target antisocial behaviour and areas where residents had raised concerns in relation to drug use.
This resulted in a number of vehicle stops and interactions.
Det Sergeant Joanne Pape, from the West Berks Priority Crime Team, said: “We are very pleased to have run this operation, which has been part-funded by the Thames Valley Police Violence Reduction Unit, targeting those who disregard the law and cause harm to others.
“Working alongside the Joint Operations Roads Policing Unit has allowed us to identify a variety of offences and this should serve as a clear message to those who seek to use the road network for criminality.
“We will make every effort to bring those who are involved in such criminality to justice.
“We would like to reassure the public who may have seen an increased police presence on Wednesday that this was in relation to this operation, and where any disruption was caused we thank them for their patience, understanding and support.”