Criminals travelling into rural areas in Shropshire to commit crime have been targeted in a focussed police operation.
Over three nights police carried out dedicated patrols in the south of the county to not only deter criminals travelling into the area but offer reassurance to the local community.
The patrols, which were carried out overnight last week on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, focussed on
Ludlow, Clee Hill, Craven Arms and Church Stretton .
Vehicles were stopped and searched with one person arrested for drug driving and one person arrested for drink driving.
Police visited the Clee Hill Summit after concerns were raised by the local community about drug use. A number of vehicles were found at the Summit and while there was no evidence of drug use the occupants were spoken to about the concerns that had been raised and decided to leave the area.
During the patrols police found a licensed premise in Craven Arms serving alcohol after hours, the manager was spoken to and given words of advice around breaching conditions of the licence and the information passed to other agencies for further action.
Officers met with a local farmer to talk about the patrols that were being carried out and discuss local concerns specific to rural areas.
Safer Communities Chief Inspector Sarah Corteen said: “Rural crime has a huge impact on our rural communities and we know those who live in some of our more remote areas in the county may feel isolated and that they may be more vulnerable to be being targeted by criminals. The majority of crime committed in our rural areas is carried out by criminals travelling in to the county and by carrying out targeted patrols in key areas we can take significant steps to deter them and let them know they’re not welcome.
“Listening and responding to the concerns our local communities raise is important to us and I hope local residents feel reassured about the activity we’ve carried out, we will continue to carry out similar operations with targeted patrols over the coming months.”
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