Police blame drugs trade for rise of organised crime in Mexborough

Officers have executed 70 warrants since January in the district as they have worked to unpick the networks of criminals using the drugs market to build illegal empires, with “a number of significant arrests” as a result, said district commander Chief Supt Shaun Morley, adding “There will be a number of significant arrests over the coming months.”

As a result of increased police activity in the district, there had been a reduction in problems such as guns being fired.

“I have met with councillors from Mexborough and they are clearly impressed by the police activity in the locality,” he said.

“We are working towards developing a partnership to address wider community issues, to sustainably bring about an improved quality of life in the locality,” he told South Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Dr Alan Billings, at a public accountability board meeting.

Police in the district have also been working to tackle problems with burglaries, working on the basis of targeting the worst offenders, who are known to be responsible for the bulk of offences.

That has seen umbers of residential burglaries tumble, with 273 reported last April, compared to 99 in the same month this year.

“Very few offenders do the vast majority of crime,” said Chief Supt Morley.

Police in the district are re-arranging resources, which will see an increase of 300 per cent in the numbers of ‘pro-active’ officers, who will be involved in tracking down such offenders.

They will be assisted by the recently re-introduced neighbourhood policing teams, currently 26 officers in total but soon to be increased to around 35.

Because they work closely with residents in some of the areas most affected by crime, they are able to provide the intelligence information which helps to identify those responsible for the crimes.

Anti social behaviour reports in the district are also down by almost half, as police have worked to try to resolve problems with those involved, such as beggars and street drinkers.

Doncaster has used public space protection orders, a legal device to prohibit certain activities in a given area, to great effect and Chief Supt Morley said other towns and cities were observing the positive impact they had been shown to achieve in the town.