Highlights of our year

The work of the force never stops, and in this special feature we look back over some of the key highlights for 2023.

Spotlight (as at end of October)

• 237,170 – number of 999 calls to Staffordshire Police
• 89,678 – number of crimes in 12mths
• 14,837 – number of arrests in 12mths
• Significantly reduced the time to answer 999 calls, on average 10.9 seconds (12 months to Oct-23)
• In the top 10 of all forces in percentage of 999 calls answered in 10 secs
• Increased successful criminal justice outcomes to 12.5%.

Our investments:

• Added 60 extra police officers in 2023/24, funded via our efficiency plan and precept
• Added 20 call takers in Force Contact to improve our 999 and 101 service
• Invested in new Crime Bureau: increased staffing and process improvements will release capacity for frontline sergeants to focus on investigations
• Invested into our new Public Protection Unit, with additional officers in child protection and sexual offences unit.
• Added automatic number plate recognition to 15 more police vehicles as part of a wider £500,000 investment in ANPR technology 

Some key successes:

In January, following a diligent investigation by our officers, we secured the successful conviction and 16-year sentence for the killer of Bartek Sobon, 34, in Stoke-on-Trent in 2021.

In February, eight men were sentenced to more than 50 years, collectively, for drug-related offences as part of their involvement in the ‘J’ line drug supply chain. This county line operated throughout Staffordshire, the West Midlands, Peterborough and Grantham, during 2017 and 2018, before our officers smashed the syndicate.

In March, following a highly complex and detailed investigation by our officers, three men and a woman were sentenced to nearly 40 years in prison for the shocking murder of Oliver Freckleton, 19, from Burton in 2022.

In April, as part of our commitment to keeping our roads safe, more than 100 drivers were stopped for various offences as part of a national campaign. This was one of several campaigns run across the year, which still sadly saw 39 fatalities on our roads, leaving families across Staffordshire heart-broken. We’ll continue our focus on keeping our roads safer over Christmas and into the new year.

Working with our neighbouring forces, in May Staffordshire Police launched ‘Operation Target’, a major new initiative to target serious organised crime.

The work of our new Public Protection Unit in protecting vulnerable people against the worst offenders in our communities bore fruit in June, with the sentencing of a man to 18 years imprisonment for a string of child sex offences, including rape. The man, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, repeatedly abused the victim between February 2021 and May 2022, and had abused his position of trust.

In July some of Stoke-on-Trent’s most vulnerable young people were safeguarded, with the conviction and jailing of a gang of five men for child criminal exploitation, following a long and complex investigation. The men were jailed for a total of 65 years for using two youngsters to traffic drugs.

August saw one of the most high-profile incidents of the year, with international coverage of the Crooked House pub fire and its subsequent demolition, for which six people have been arrested and remain, at this time, on police bail.

Tragically, in September, following a number of incidents in Staffordshire and elsewhere, family man Ian Price was mauled to death by two American XL bullies in Stonnall. His death was the catalyst for the Prime Minister to announce that the breed would be added to the ‘banned breed’ list by the end of the year.

In October, following an investigation by our Major Investigations Unit, the killer of Valentina Cozma, 40, was sentenced to 28 years in prison for her brutal murder.

In November, officers from our child protection team secured the imprisonment of a child sex offender for two decades. The 36-year-old man inflicted a campaign of physical and emotional abuse on the survivor. He was arrested in July 2022 after offences were reported to us.

And in the last fortnight, we’ve had the latest success for Op Target, the serious and organised crime operation covering the West Midlands. Two men have been jailed for 11 years, after officers took down a sophisticated drug line operating across Burton-on-Trent and Birmingham.