‘Sting’ cars to help police drive down crime rate

The “sting” vehicles are being placed at locations across Sheffield, Doncaster, Barnsley and Rotherham by South Yorkshire Police in a bid to track and monitor criminals who break into them.

The force, which launched Operation Lockdown this month to tackle its high rates of vehicle crime and house burglary, is also setting up static automatic number recognition cameras on major routes to target travelling criminals.

Vehicle checkpoints are being set up around the county and officers plan to crack down on stolen goods being disposed of using scrapyards and second-hand dealers.

Police officers, PCSOs and special constables will carry out high-profile patrols and issue crime prevention advice, while unmarked cars will also be on patrol in “hot spot” areas.

Detective Chief Inspector Chris Singleton, South Yorkshire’s lead for vehicle crime, said: “We intend to make it extremely difficult for car criminals to operate within South Yorkshire.

“There will always be that nagging doubt in the mind of the thief that this might be one of South Yorkshire’s sting vehicles.

“With this in mind, residents can help us too by securing their vehicles and removing property from display.

“More than half of all vehicle crime is as a result of property being left on open display or failure to lock the vehicle.”

As part of the week of action, South Yorkshire Police says “extensive” efforts will be made to bring any outstanding suspects for vehicle offences to justice in the next few days.

Operation Lockdown was launched at the beginning of this month after a two per cent rise in both types of crime between April and August compared with the same period last year.

Senior officers have also set a target for the force to cut burglaries from dwellings by 31 per cent and vehicle crimes by 25 per cent by next March.

A total of 131 people were arrested for burglary and vehicle offences in the first two weeks of the operation, including 63 in Doncaster, 33 in Sheffield, 20 in Barnsley and 15 in Rotherham.