500 vehicles taken off Dales roads in nine months

More than 500 vehicles have been seized by police in a rural area of North Yorkshire in less than a year.

Since October 2023, police in the Richmondshire area have been using new technology to help take illegally-driven cars and vans off the roads.

Officers have been using a handheld system, rolled out to Neighbourhood Policing teams and Response teams in Richmondshire last year, to instantly identify vehicles that are uninsured or linked to crime.

Dozens of vehicles every month are now being seized thanks to the new kit – included this one, located in June 2024 in Catterick Garrison, which was uninsured and suspected to be linked to crime:

Seized vehicles are taken to compounds where they are stored for a set amount of time. Impounded vehicles may be crushed and recycled if they are not claimed after a certain period.

Inspector Martin Metcalfe, Neighbourhood Policing Inspector for Richmondshire, said: “One of the reasons vehicle seizures are effective is because they disrupt criminality, as offenders who travel into rural areas no longer have the means to move around. As well as patrolling larger roads such as the A66, we also patrol smaller rural roads that are known routes for travelling criminals.

“We know the area far better than most criminals. That means we have the advantage, which is bad news for travelling criminals but great news for you, the law-abiding public of Richmondshire who we’re here to keep safe.”