A three-day ANPR operation, coined Operation Jaguar, took place at the end of last week, bringing in some huge results for Northamptonshire Police.
Months in the planning to ensure the best results, Operation Jaguar saw 50 officers committed to three days of using the ANPR network to intercept vehicles suspected of being involved in one of the Force’s four matters of priority – knife crime, serious and organised crime, domestic abuse and anti-social behaviour.
ANPR - Automatic Number Plate Recognition - reads the registration of passing vehicles and checks them across several databases, raising the alert if a vehicle is stolen or linked to crime.
In December 2020, Chief Constable Nick Adderley and Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold, announced that 150 new camera sites, amounting to a £1.3 million investment, would be installed across Northamptonshire to create a ring of steel around the county.
Now the investment is paying dividends with Operation Jaguar achieving 143 vehicle stops, 26 arrests, 44 vehicles seized, and 76 traffic offences identified, all within the three days.
During one stop in Bants Lane, Northampton, of a man suspected of dealing Class A drugs, the man in question decided to run away from officers. But he didn’t get far, with PD Ebby and her handler PC Ash Price, deployed to the scene, eventually finding the man hiding next to a garden shed. The 33-year-old was swiftly arrested.
Other arrests included suspects for the breaching of Non-Molestation Orders, the breaching of Domestic Violence Protection Orders, drug supply offences, offensive weapons and disqualified drivers.
The impact and benefit of a comprehensive ANPR system was also shown with the arrest of a wanted male for an unprovoked violent attack in Northampton Town Centre found in a linked vehicle.
Director of Intelligence – Superintendent Lee McBride, said: “This was a meticulously planned and clinical operation, executed flawlessly by the officers within the Force’s Intelligence Bureau, and I am really pleased with the results.
“Gone are the days where we would simply react to intelligence. Now we are taking the fight back to the criminals and Operation Jaguar demonstrates the fact that we use the technology at our hands proactively, to target those who would look to use our roads to commit their crimes.
“The results here speak for themselves and I hope we have shown the danger that ANPR poses to you if you are a criminal.
“My message is simple – if you want to use our roads to commit crime, it won’t be long before you see blue lights in your rear-view mirror, and you’ve booked a non-negotiable trip to our custody suite.”
Chief Constable Nick Adderley, who went on patrol with the Op Jaguar team last week, said: “Operation Jaguar has been truly superb and I am very proud of our Force Intelligence Bureau who I know have worked really hard to make sure we got the best results possible.
“This operation once again demonstrates the capability and sheer power of our ANPR network. We have a ring of steel around the county to both prevent and detect crime and I look forward to more fantastic results in the future.”
And Stephen Mold, the Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, added: “It’s a year since we announced that we would be more than doubling the ANPR network in Northamptonshire by adding a further £1.3 million investment into cameras and staffing, and the results it has produced since then have shown what a fantastic resource it is, proving in helping to make the county a safer place and protect our residents.
“The excellent work of all those involved in Operation Jaguar has further reinforced the message that those who are using our roads to commit crimes can expect a hostile reception here in Northamptonshire.”
