Police operation leads to 190 arrests

A PRE-Christmas operation mounted by Cheshire Police to track down people wanted by the police or the courts led to 190 arrests across the county.
The aim of Operation Hatay Three was to round-up offenders attempting to evade justice.
It ran from December 17 to 24 ans, as a festive twist, Christmas cards were sent to the last known addresses of not just those who had failed to appear at court but those wanted by officers investigating crimes or who had been named as suspects.
Superintendent Pete Crowcroft said: “Harbouring letters were slipped inside the cards reminding offenders to hand themselves in, or those who may know where they are, of the possible consequences of not telling police if they had information on their whereabouts.
“We wanted to make sure those evading justice and those who knew where they were, realised we‘re not going to give up. We worked over the festive period to locate and arrest offenders in order to achieve timely justice for victims.
“No matter what time of year, we will continue day and night to find those who commit crime in Cheshire.”
During the operation, teams from neighourhood policing units, the major investigation team and others within the force operations department worked together to locate outstanding offenders with the help of those in the criminal justice department.
Superintendent Crowcroft said: “The operation has seen a significant number of serious offenders arrested as a result of the combined effort and focus from all the staff involved.
“There is no doubt that a clear message has been sent to those who have offended in Cheshire and we have had several instances of offenders handing themselves in as a result of the continued pressure applied during the operation.”
Anyone who knows of someone who is wanted by the courts or by the police, can contact police on 101. Alternatively, they can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.