Cracking down on thieves in Yeovil area

MORE than 80 people have been arrested by police in the Yeovil area following  a crackdown on thieves.

An operation to target theft, burglary and other similar offences was launched on September 11 and so far in the Somerset East police district - which has its headquarters in Yeovil - officers have made 81 arrests as part of the latest forcewide Relentless campaign.

In the current operation, police are focusing on those who are involved in acquisitive crime such as burglary, robbery and car crime across the force area.

Several Operation Relentless campaigna have been held since they were first introduced in 2005, with thousands of arrests made over that period.

The arrests in Somerset East under the current campaign include arrests on suspicion of handling and money laundering, shoplifting, theft from vehicles, dwelling burglaries and thefts from sheds and outbuildings.

Activities carried out so far include executing warrants at unlicensed metal dealers and other business premises while officers have also targeted fraudsters by conducting stop-checks of traders operating in the local community.

In South Somerset, search warrants have also been executed at properties in Haselbury Plucknett, Yeovil and the Martock area.

At the Haselbury Plucknett address a firearm was seized and in Yeovil metal cable was seized and a man was arrested.

At the address near Martock suspected stolen tools were seized and one man was arrested.

Chief Insp Sean Williams said: "The police teams throughout Somerset are tackling these types of crimes all year round and so far this year crime across the district is down by 11 per cent.

"However, it is always worthwhile to run these additional operations at various points during the year to provide extra focus on particular crime types and also to make use of additional resources that are provided centrally.

"By bringing together enforcement and crime prevention within the operation and working with our communities we can maximise the approach to this type of crime."

Find out more about how we are keeping you safe by visiting our Operation Relentless section and report intelligence, in confidence, through our online form.

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