Op Shield is back!

As part of our efforts to tackle criminality across our area, Operation Shield is back for another intensification period this March. 

Our force-wide proactive initiative has today (Monday 3 March) relaunched to continue the focus on clamping down on crime in hotspot locations with the aim of identifying and targeting the most harmful criminals who prey on our communities.

Over the next four weeks, officers across our force area will be ramping up their work to detect criminals involved in a range of crimes, reduce serious acquisitive crime and antisocial behaviour, increase visibility in hotspot areas, disrupt and dismantle organised crime groups, reduce criminality on the roads, and protect the most vulnerable victims in our communities by targeting high-harm offenders and perpetrators of domestic abuse.

“Is this not just officers doing their jobs?”, we hear you ask. Yes, it absolutely is! All this work remains daily business for our officers, but utilising Operation Shield gives us an opportunity to intensify and shine a light on all the work staff and officers do across a multitude of departments and specialisms, 24/7, 365. 

Across the Humberside region, the team will be carrying out warrants to proactively seek and arrest criminals. They will also be seizing illegal items, including drugs and weapons with the aim of disrupting, and dismantling organised crime groups that have links to violent crime, county lines and drug related offences. 

Leading the operation this March is Assistant Chief Constable Mike Walker, who said: “I am pleased to say that Operation Shield is recommencing to support our relentless pursuit of criminals who think they can commit crime in our force area and get away with it.

“Last year saw the successful launch of Operation Shield with more than 900 arrests, and nearly 300 people charged. This month-long intensification period is a continuation of this, developing the previous work done by our officers. 

“There will be a strong focus not only on enforcing the law, but also on the preventative work that the force is taking part in across a variety of dedicated operations. 

“The Operation Shield team has expanded further, and we now have even more resources available to them. Our dedicated teams will be working tirelessly to tackle a wide range of criminality, alongside not only each other but also multi-agency partners.

“Having listened to what the public have been telling us, we will be enforcing bespoke operations that relate to the specific issues within local areas including Kinetic, Operation Yellowfin and Yokohama, Clear, Hold, Build, and more. 

“We have already seen the impact that Operation Shield has had, not only for those who live in the area but also those who visit and work across it, and we are excited to bring it back for another intensification period. 

“As part of the operation, our local communities can expect an increased policing presence from both uniformed and plain clothed officers, particularly in areas that have high crime rates and where antisocial behaviour is prevalent. 

“We will always do everything that we possibly can to put those who have committed crime in Humberside before the courts, to make sure that our residents feel safe, and that justice is achieved for any victim of crime.”

We would always encourage you to report any offences to us so we can build the bigger picture and take appropriate action.

You can provide information to the charity Crimestoppers completely anonymously on 0800 555111, or on their website www.crimestoppers.org.uk 

To keep up with the latest Op Shield updates, make sure to follow @HumberBeat on Facebook and Twitter and follow #OpShield. You can also sign up to receive My Community Alerts to find out what is happening locally at https://www.mycommunityalert.co.uk/.