Operation Shield: 675 arrested in police crackdown
PROUD: Superintendent Paul Butler talking to The Hull Story. Picture by Tom Arran
By Rick Lyon
Humberside Police have arrested 675 suspected criminals as part of a major force-wide operation to target offenders in hotspot locations.
Operation Shield was launched in September, combining teams from CID, major crime, roads policing and patrol, as well as the force’s network of Neighbourhood Policing Teams (NPTs), for the crackdown.
Officers have been out in force, prioritising criminals who cause the most harm and repeat offenders. Burglars, robbers, sexual offenders and domestic abusers are all among those who have been targeted.
The police have made 675 arrests under the operation, with 226 suspected criminals being charged with a range of offences so far. Of those, 188 have been remanded in custody, awaiting court.
In addition, hundreds of thousands of pounds-worth of drugs and illegally gained goods have been seized under the operation.
Superintendent Paul Butler, Silver Commander for Operation Shield, told The Hull Story: “We’ve made a really, really big difference.
“These aren’t just first-time offenders – these are people who are causing significant distress in our communities.
“The feedback from the public has been really positive and this is what we’ll continue to do – target those who cause the most harm in society.”
The operation has been delivered in three dedicated phases.
Phase one focused on arresting those offenders causing the most harm in communities in a series of raids, based on intelligence the force had gathered, including from residents.
UNDER ARREST: Humberside Police have been targeting criminals under Operation Shield
The second phase involved further building the cases against those arrested, to ensure they receive the sentences they deserve, as well as supporting their victims and helping build up communities that have suffered.
Phase three, which is underway now, is seeing the force back out arresting those remaining criminals still operating.
Supt Butler said: “It’s been about us listening to our communities, responding to what we’ve been told and being really proactive in targeting the criminals responsible for causing the most harm in society.
“We’ve been tackling organised crime groups, offenders committing burglaries and robberies, those committing sexual offences, as well as violence against women and young girls.
“We’ve also been targeting repeat offenders, such as those who commit multiple shop thefts.”
The role the public has played in the operation has been crucial. The force has gathered intelligence from its Humber Talking initiative, which sees officers speaking face-to-face with residents about issues where they live.
It has also worked with “seldom heard communities” – those that wouldn’t ordinarily engage with the police – to make sure their voices were heard.
This has helped build a bank of evidence against the worst offenders across the region.
“Community engagement is part and parcel of what we do,” said Supt Butler.
“Our neighbourhood teams work really, really hard to get out there, reach our communities and listen to what they have to say, so we can act on it.
“For Operation Shield, we’ve knocked on hundreds of doors to reach those people who might not have otherwise come forward to tell us what’s happening where they live.
“We’ve been knocking on doors to gather intelligence from communities and find out what they want us to do in their areas, then we’ve been responding to it by knocking down criminals’ doors.
“When communities stand up to share information with us, it’s then our duty to act on it.
“There’s an absolute commitment from Humberside Police that this is what we’ll continue to do.”