Police crackdown on criminals who head for tourism hotspots

Patrols are being stepped-up on the region’s major roads as part of a three-month crackdown on criminals heading into North Yorkshire from other parts of the UK.

York alone attracts more than 7.1m visitors annually, and police have gleaned intelligence that criminals are trying to use the vast numbers of tourists arriving across North Yorkshire as cover to commit offences. Dubbed Operation Vanguard, the crackdown on cross-border crime is aimed at thwarting unwanted visitors who eye-up the county as a prime target by monitoring their movements closely. A massive 30 per cent of crime committed in North Yorkshire is carried out by criminals who live outside the county.

The force’s Temporary Assistant Chief Constable, Iain Spittal, claimed the problem is heightened in summer as offenders take advantage of the lighter evenings and busier roads.

He said: “This is the time of year when criminals will start to venture into our county. We want to be there to deter them and if commit crime, to catch them. I think it’s quite likely the criminals use the lighter evenings to their advantage and travelling is easier when the road conditions are better.

“They also blend in when the roads are busy with visitors. We know North Yorkshire has a lot of law abiding people that come to our county and we want criminals to know there is nowhere to hide. My message to them is if you come to the county to commit crime, the likelihood is we will catch you.

“Bed and breakfast in North Yorkshire Police cells is not as attractive as bed and breakfast on the coast.”

The operation kicked off with a day of action yesterday focusing on the A1 and A19, which are seen as major routes used by offenders to target North Yorkshire’s towns and villages. The crackdown will continue with further days of action, increased patrols and searches based on intelligence gathered during the initiative.

The force will use specialist resources, including Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR), the financial investigation unit, firearms officers and regional roads policing teams and police dogs. North Yorkshire Police is also liaising closely with neighbouring forces to share intelligence.

Mr Spittal said: “It’s about putting extra efforts into targeting the right people at the right times and the right locations. We have had people travel to North Yorkshire and commit a wide range of crimes. For example we recently had criminals from the Leicestershire area coming in to steal caravans and we have had offenders coming in from other parts of the country to steal high-value metal.

“They target towns and villages and isolated rural locations. We patrol our borders 24 hours a day but what we are doing for the next three months is putting on extra patrols to strengthen these borders.”

In October, the Yorkshire Post revealed a specialist squad of police officers had been established to tackle North Yorkshire’s burglary hotspots and prevent criminal gangs travelling into the county to carry out raids.

The dedicated team of both officers and support staff was set up as part of North Yorkshire Police’s year-long burglary crackdown, Operation Haven.

Officers have been focusing their efforts on targeting burglary hotspots as well as monitoring known offenders who have recently been released from prison.

Operation Haven has led to a 10 per cent fall in domestic break-ins since its launch last May. But one of the biggest concerns is over so-called two-in-one burglaries, where offenders break into a property and steal car keys before driving off in the vehicle.