Bob
7th March 2006, 01:17
Gloucestershire, UK: Police have “dramatically reduced” bike thefts following a ‘sting’ operation set up by them.
The initiative – which involved positioning a moped in strategic areas to see if opportunist thieves would strike, monitored by officers in plain clothes - was launched to curb the rising number of thefts in South Gloucestershire which at its peak reached more than 60 reported thefts in one month.
Four people were arrested by police following the series of covert operations.
Superintendent Andy Francis said "I believe the word has got around the criminal fraternity that we are carrying out these sort of operations. We have put the fear back into criminals and taken it away from victims. This has had a positive effect on our crime figures with thefts of motorcycles reducing by almost 50%.”
"We will not hesitate to carry out similar operations to identify offenders and ensure less people become a victim of crime."
The initiative – which involved positioning a moped in strategic areas to see if opportunist thieves would strike, monitored by officers in plain clothes - was launched to curb the rising number of thefts in South Gloucestershire which at its peak reached more than 60 reported thefts in one month.
Four people were arrested by police following the series of covert operations.
Superintendent Andy Francis said "I believe the word has got around the criminal fraternity that we are carrying out these sort of operations. We have put the fear back into criminals and taken it away from victims. This has had a positive effect on our crime figures with thefts of motorcycles reducing by almost 50%.”
"We will not hesitate to carry out similar operations to identify offenders and ensure less people become a victim of crime."