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It’s cold outside… and we’ve been giving suspected criminals a frosty reception during a large operation in the north of the county today.
Several people are in custody, including some on suspicion of immigration offences and drug offences.
A man and a woman in their 20s have been arrested on suspicion of being in the UK illegally after specialist officers from our Missing & Exploitation team and Neighbourhood Policing Team visited a business in central Northallerton.
During an early-morning warrant, we arrested a man in his 30s from a village near Richmond on suspicion of possession with intent to supply drugs. He’s currently in custody.
It’s part of Operation Tornado, a North Yorkshire Police intensification day to make arrests, prevent crime and respond to the issues that matter most to communities.
As well as targeted enforcement operations, teams have been providing a high-visibility presence on the streets, with patrols and town centre stalls to spread safety advice.
We’ve been working with residents, businesses and other organisations during deployments in Richmond, Northallerton, Catterick and the surrounding areas to target issues such as burglary, shop theft, anti-social behaviour and road safety.
We also visited some local schools to familiarise young pupils with the police. Students at Le Cateau Primary (pictured below) were visited by a PCSO, PC and crime scene investigator to learn about law and order and solve ‘the mystery of the half-eaten Mars bar’.
At Mill Hill school, we worked with older children on knife crime prevention and anti-social behaviour awareness, while younger classes learned about fingerprints, tried police clothes out for size and got chance to sit in police vehicles.
On the roads throughout the area, the Road Policing Group are out in force, looking for stolen or uninsured vehicles, drink drivers and banned drivers and ensuring everyone stays safe in the wintry conditions.
Richmondshire Neighbourhood Policing Inspector Lauren Wilkinson said today: “Today’s been a massive push to support the community and deal with suspected criminals really robustly.
“Despite it being freezing out here, the community has given us a very warm welcome, talking to us about issues that matter to them and finding out about how we’re keeping them safe.
“Working together means we can focus on the things that matter to residents, and do it in a way where people feel listened to and involved. It’s a win-win and today just goes to show what a strong community spirit we have in this area.”
Op Tornado is a large operation designed to be tough on crime but support communities as it moves around different areas of the county.
Today is the first time it has taken place in Hambleton and Richmondshire.
Patrols under the operation will continue into the night.
9 January 2025: Update from the night-time shift
Yesterday we brought you the day’s proactive policing results as part of Operation Tornado in the Hambleton and Richmondshire area – our day of intensification targeting the issues that matter to our communities.
The operation continued into the night as we carried out vehicle checks in the Catterick area and proactive patrols in the Dales area.
We arrested two women for possession with intent to supply cannabis after we stopped their car and found a quantity of cannabis following a search of the vehicle.
Elsewhere a wanted man handed himself in at Catterick police station, we handed out two warning notices to antisocial drivers, and we seized another vehicle for having no insurance.
We carried out 56 vehicle stops in total and issued 15 prohibition notices. These are notices that take a vehicle off the road due to a safety or legal issue. Some of these were immediate prohibitions and some were delayed to allow drivers to rectify the issues where it would be safe to do so.
We also reported a number of drivers for the following offences: