New dedicated team appointed to tackle vehicle crime

Acting on community priorities remains one of the force’s key focuses – and that’s why we’ve appointed a dedicated team to tackle vehicle crime in Staffordshire.

Five officers have been assembled to specifically target vehicle crime in the region and have already made three arrests in the last few days.

They will be deployed to various hotspot locations in the county and will be working closely with our regional partners to find those responsible. The team have collective expertise in a variety of policing roles, such as:

• Neighbourhood policing
• Criminal investigations
• Forensics
• Roads policing

It comes as the force continues its efforts to act on community priorities and tackle rising cases of vehicle crime. There has been a collective increase in this criminality across the UK and we want to put a stop to it.

Neighbourhood crime figures for Staffordshire remain 16.7 per cent below the national baseline - but we are continuing to ensure the force actions priorities across each of the local policing areas.

We launched a dedicated operation called Op Bormus alongside our new policing model in June and have since arrested over 20 suspects and recovered more than 30 stolen cars across Staffordshire.

Op Bormus has seen teams from neighbourhood policing working closely with colleagues over at West Midlands Police, Central Motorway Police Group (CMPG) and the force’s Roads Policing Unit (RPU). We have been sharing intelligence, engaging with members of the public and patrolling key areas to find those responsible and bring them to justice.

Detective Inspector Pete Cooke, who has overseen the appointment of the Bormus team, said: “This is another important step in the right direction which will give us more ways of finding those responsible and protecting the belongings of our communities.

“We realise the devastating impact this type of crime can have on residents and businesses. It’s not only the hassle and inconvenience, but also the financial implications which can have such a lasting affect on people.

“It’s one of the main reasons why we have appointed these officers and implemented a strenuous recruitment procedure to ensure they are right for the role.

“We will be continuing to work with our local partners and colleagues to action this community priority and ensure we disrupt those who are seeking to commit vehicle thefts in Staffordshire.”

For more information on how to protect your vehicle from thieves, visit: Preventing car and vehicle theft | Crime Prevention | Staffordshire Police