More than 120 arrests and 30 charges as officers and partners strike against crime in Shelton

We have arrested more than 120 people and charged more than 30 with offences as part of a 53-day strike against organised crime and community priorities in Shelton.

Officers have teamed up with Stoke-on-Trent City Council to robustly target the issues affecting local residents and businesses the most as part of our continued Making Great Places initiative across Stoke-on-Trent.

Similarly to our crackdown in the Fenton area, where 40 suspects were arrested and nine addresses were searched across a three-week period, we’ve been busy targeting suspects in Shelton and Hanley Park recently and taking positive action to deliver on what our communities want.

Here’s what’s happened in the last 53-days:

• We have arrested a total of 124 people suspected of criminal offences in the Shelton and Hanley Park area, including firearm possession, drug supply, sexual offences, modern day slavery and criminal exploitation
• A total of 34 people have been charged with offences and taken to court
• We have bailed 27 suspects and released six under investigation as part of ongoing criminal investigations
• Other suspects arrested have been dealt with through youth offending referrals or community resolutions
• We searched a number of addresses, leading to the discovery of dangerous weapons, drugs and cannabis grows
• Stoke-on-Trent City Council cleared more than 60 areas of illegal dumping of waste
• The council carried out checks alongside Environmental Health on 14 premises
• Stoke-on-Trent City Council and local officers recovered a knife and drug paraphernalia from Hanley Park in a weapon sweep
• Stoke-on-Trent City Council served four closure notices to retailers illegally selling tobacco and vapes  
• Our road crime team (RCT) stopped 24 vehicles, issued 15 traffic reports, seized one vehicle and issued two fixed penalty notices

Making Great Places aims to make targeted areas in the city cleaner, safer and healthier place for everyone. Through robust enforcement, we’ve laid the foundations to drive criminals out of Shelton and Hanley Park.

The next step in the initiative involves officers working alongside the city council and wider partners to engage more closely with local residents and businesses, allowing us to put measures in place to stop criminals from coming back and setting up their operations in the area.

Just this morning alone (Friday 22 November), we arrested eight people in warrants across the city on suspicion of drug offences as part of our Making Great Places enforcement. We found an estimated 1.1-kilgrams of suspected heroin and around £15,000 in cash.

Chief Superintendent Elliott Sharrard-Williams, Commander for Stoke-on-Trent, said: “We’ve been using all of the tactics we can muster with partners to stamp out crime and anti-social behaviour so we can deliver positive results for the communities we proudly serve in Shelton and Hanley Park.

“Making Great Places is a gradual process. It starts by police and council enforcement teams being proactive and taking the fight to those who commit crime in our city. The results so far are pleasing but it’s the start of the journey as we continue to work to build a safer city with our partners.

“I want communities in Stoke-on-Trent to know that we are listening to your concerns and continuing to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour. We have much more to do, but the results from this phase of Making Great Places initiative coupled with the 48 per cent increase in arrests across the city since the start of the year mean that we are going in the right direction.

“We need the continued support of the public to help us tackle these concerns as robustly as possible. I urge anyone with any information to get in touch by calling 101 or using Live Chat on our website.

“Or, if you want to stay anonymous, you can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Tell them what you know, not who you are.”

Councillor Majid Khan, cabinet member for community safety and resilience, said: “We have been working closely with Staffordshire Police for some time to make life better for everyone who lives and works in the Shelton area.

“We want all residents to love where they live, to take pride in the city and this starts on the doorstep. We heard directly from residents about what they wanted to see. Our message to them is: we hear you, and we are taking action. Also, an element of responsibility needs to embed itself in the local communities, and for people to take ownership, whether that be for ensuring the correct bins are used or reporting something that doesn’t feel right.

“This campaign has strengthened the relationship between the local community, Staffordshire Police and the council. We have come together to make a cleaner, greener and safer city.”