Blitz on travelling criminals launched (From Gazette & Herald)

Blitz on travelling criminals launched

10:57am Wednesday 17th October 2012 in News

A CRACKDOWN on criminals who deliberately travel across boundaries into North Yorkshire and Ryedale has been outlined by two top police chiefs.

But they have also appealed for people to take all steps possible to secure their property rather than make it easier for criminals to steal.

If property was left secure then the police would not have to deal with a crime there but could tackle another situation elsewhere.

Supt Glyn Payne, the new commander of Scarborough and Ryedale, and Insp Andy Everitt, who took over as commander of Ryedale earlier this year, spelt out their plans at a meeting of Malton Town Council recently.

And they are also determined to tackle and understand the causes of crime and deal with the situation at an early age.

Supt Payne said: “The people who have gone before me have done a great deal of work and made Ryedale one of the safest places in the country.

“It is now my challenge to ensure it remains like that.”

The police face challenges with a shrinking budget but as commander he said he was determined to get the best out of the resources at his disposal.

“We aim to ensure to deliver the best possible policing service,” said Supt Payne, adding that his “ring of steel” included automatic number plate recognition and CCTV especially in terms of cross-border criminality.

Insp Everitt acknowledged he had a challenge after spelling out there had been a 24 per cent reduction in crime over the last four years.

Detection rates were up and the aim was to reduce crime by 10 per cent by the end of the year and achieve a higher detection rate.

But many metal and diesel thefts were by people from outside Ryedale so “we want to ensure that whenever they are in Ryedale we disrupt their activities and if we have sufficient evidence to make an arrest we will make an arrest”.

He pointed out that the action they took before and during the Pickering Steam Traction Rally this year meant crime went down by three-quarters.

“We aimed to disrupt criminality and stop people using the rally to commit crime,” he said.

He also pointed out there had been a 32 per cent reduction in anti-social behaviour in Ryedale.

With regard to CCTV, he had discussed the situation with Janet Waggot, the chief executive of Ryedale District Council.

Malton was the only police station with CCTV in North Yorkshire, with most other districts having taken it back under council responsibility. He said he did not have the police staff and reserves to monitor it but he gave examples of where it had been of great use to the police in tackling crimes.

On one occasion it had been used to help track down a man from Pontefract who had gone missing in Malton. He was found by a police officer near the A64 and had suicidal notes with him.

The future of the skatepark in the area also came under the spotlight with Ryedale District Council putting responsibility for it into the hands of Malton Town Council.

Insp Everitt said: “It is invaluable as a community facility for the youth of the area.”