Police celebrate operation success

Operation Denver targeted persistent criminals who committed robberies, burglaries and thefts from/or of motor vehicles over the Christmas period.

Final figures for the operation showed that 60 arrests were made as part of Operation Denver team between December 2011 and February 2012 following the execution of numerous warrants across the three towns as well as reacting to intelligence supplied by members of the public.

Of those arrested only four resulted in no further action being taken by the police while 14 were charged and remanded in custody, four were recalled to prison, nine were charged and bailed by the court, seven were released on police bail, four were charged and await court, three were cautioned, two were given warnings, one was detained under the Mental Health Act, one was arrested on behalf of the burglary team and one entered the Prolific and other Priority Offenders (PPO) scheme. Ten other people were handed over to the robbery team for further enquiries into their activities.

Detective Sergeant Maz Wheeler, who is responsible for co-ordinating the ongoing operation, said: “Operation Denver has helped to reduce crime in our area and severely disrupt criminals due to the hard work of officers, partners and members of the public,

“Offenders have been arrested on suspicion of a range of offences including burglary, robbery, handling stolen goods, criminal damage and possession of class A drugs. We will not tolerate crime in our county and we are working hard to reduce the number of offences as well as retrieving and returning property that has been taken.”

Detective Inspector Richard Wall added: “We have seen some fantastic results in the last three months and the fact that no further action was only taken against four individuals just proves that we have been targeting the right people.

“I hope that Operation Denver serves as a warning to criminals that Bedfordshire Police is taking the fight against crime to them and with the help of our partners and members of the public, we will continue to see great results.”

Anyone with information about crimes and criminals in their area can contact Bedfordshire Police, in confidence on 101, or text information to 07786 200011.

Alternatively, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111, or online at crimestoppers-uk.org.