Police teams made multiple arrests and seizures and carried out stops and searches during a focused day of action to crack down on drug dealing in St Ann’s.
Two wanted men were arrested during the operation which involved uniform and plain clothes patrols in drug crime hot-spot areas, including open green spaces.
The day of action, held on Wednesday (15 October), disrupted criminal activity as well as gathering intelligence and reassuring local members of the community who have previously reported concerns about drug use and supply.
As part of the police’s commitment to tackle the issue, a problem management plan to address drug dealing in parks and green spaces was created and has been driven forward by St Ann’s sergeant Georgina Northwood.
St Ann’s beat manager PC Annaleise Howell said: “Within just the first 20 minutes of our operation we arrested a wanted man and carried out three stops and searches, including a positive outcome in St Mary’s Rest Garden where a drug user was detained, wraps of drugs were seized, and she was appropriately dealt with.
“We’re committed to tackling drug dealing and drug use in St Ann’s because we know the huge impact it has on our local community, as well as impacting the lives of vulnerable people who are preyed upon by criminals for their own financial gain.
“That’s why we will continue to run dedicated operations like this one, to show residents that we are listening to their concerns, and will we do everything we can, working closely with our partners, to identify and catch offenders, reduce our number of victims, and to support and safeguard vulnerable people who may be at risk of being exploited.”
PS Northwood added: “We’re sending a clear message to those looking to deal drugs in St Ann’s that it will not be tolerated and you will be brought to justice.
“Through our ongoing policing activities, we will continue to root out those who are exploiting the vulnerable and supplying drugs which devastates communities.
“We will continue to work tirelessly all year round to identify and close down these drug lines as well as working with our partners to make our green spaces safer places to enjoy.”
During Wednesday’s patrols, officers arrested two men wanted on recall to prison and stopped and searched individuals suspected of being in possession of controlled drugs.
These included two women who were detained, with white and brown wraps of suspected heroin and cocaine seized from them. Both women were interviewed and one was given a conditional caution.
Teams and resources which worked together during the proactive day of action included neighbourhood officers, knife crime team colleagues, and the force’s dedicated high-tech CCTV van.
The CCTV van, which can capture a 360-degree view of an area from a telescopic mast, is designed to improve resident safety by acting as a deterrent but also capturing real time evidence.
The camera has the capacity to view an entire area, zoom in directly on offenders, identify any potential threats or capture the direction that offenders leave a scene.
The footage can also be viewed remotely from the force control room, allowing, where necessary for real-time information to be passed onto officers.
PC Howell said: “We want to gather as much intelligence as we can to help us tackle and reduce illegal drug supply in St Ann’s.
“However, we can’t tackle this issue alone and that’s why we need help from the public by providing information to us and reporting any suspicious activity they see so that we can then take appropriate action as well as helping us to build an intelligence picture to target illegal drug supply.”
Anyone with information about drug dealing taking place in their area is urged to call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
