Police make 17 arrests in crime crackdown in Barnsley

A total of 152 officers were deployed to Barnsley yesterday as part of Operation Duxford – a day of action to tackle issues of concern in communities.

Traffic officers, the off-road bikes team, mounted officers and partner agencies, including Barnsley Council and South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, supported the operation.

A number of raids were carried out and traffic officers targeted stolen vehicles and drivers without insurance and licences.

The team stopped 21 vehicles and pursued a stolen car, believed to have been used in a burglary earlier this week.

The driver, a 21-year-old man, was arrested on suspicion of burglary and motoring offences.

Nine vehicles were seized for their drivers not having insurance or tax.

The 17 suspects arrested were held on suspicion of possession of drugs with intent to supply, possession of weapons, failing to appear at court, failing to stop and driving whilst disqualified.

A closure order was served on one property because of complaints about drug use and anti-social behaviour.

Inspector Matt Wood said: “Following reports of drug use and anti-social behaviour from our community, we have been able to work with Barnsley Council to secure a warning for a closure order on a property in the town centre.

“If improvements are not made in the next two weeks, we will look at closing the property and seeking a closure order from the court for a period of three months. This will completely close the property giving the local community respite from the ongoing issues.

“We are thankful to our communities for reporting the issues in their areas and I would like to encourage you to continue doing so. It may not seem like we act upon the information straight away but we are, and will continue to tackle these problems.”

Chief Superintendent Scott Green said: “We have seen outstanding results from our officers yesterday.

“We had the highest number of arrests, drugs recovered and search warrants we have ever conducted on a Duxford day in Barnsley.

“These results are testament to our communities, all of our action today is following intelligence and reports from the public.

“We know that these are the issues that matter the most to our communities are we are committed to tackling the problem.”