Yellow cards will be doled out to crime suspects by Cheshire Police
POLICE in Cheshire have started issuing yellow cards to anyone suspected of committing a crime.
Operation Yellow Card has been launched by Cheshire Constabulary and will see the force issue warning cards with the message ‘you are not welcome here’ attached.
A crime will not have to be in progress for action to be taken but there will need to be police intelligence suggesting the ‘individual is involved in criminal behaviour.’
If the person is stopped again in a similar area, and officers suspect they may be ‘up to no good,’ then a second card would be issued.
This then means police can look at a range of options including dispersal notices and civil orders.
They will also apply to people from outside the county who are not believed by police to have a legitimate reason for being in the area.
Chief Constable Mark Roberts said: “The message is clear, if you are coming into or travelling through Cheshire to commit a crime then we are watching you and you are not welcome.
“If we believe you are involved in criminality we will target you, and when we issue the Yellow Card we will explain to you why we are targeting you.
“This is not about stopping people indiscriminately and issuing them with a yellow card unnecessarily, it is about disrupting and deterring crime to help prevent Cheshire residents becoming a victim of crime.”
As well as deterring criminals, officers hope the operation will help reassure the wider public ‘that criminal behaviour will not be tolerated in Cheshire.’
Chief Constable Roberts added: “We’re making Cheshire a hostile place for criminals and the law-abiding citizens of Cheshire can rest assured that we will continue to target and catch those people who think they can come into our county and commit crime.”