A FURTHER arrest has been made by police in Bradford as part of Operation Jemlock.

A 39-year-old male is in custody on suspicion of domestic assault and breaching a restraining order.

Police tweeted that specialist officers in the domestic abuse team will now pick up the investigation.

The arrest was the 2,242nd under Operation Jemlock across West Yorkshire.

Officers involved said they had been so busy the do not often get chance to tweet about every job but in February they plan to tweet daily about the hard work done throughout the last year.

Operation Jemlock is a West Yorkshire Police initiative to tackle serious violence and knife crime. It was launched in April 2019 and so far 144 weapons have been seized.

The operation commenced after the Chief Constable, John Robins, met with the Home Secretary, along with other Chief Officers, in March 2019.

Following that meeting, a number of police forces were given extra funding to tackle knife violence.

Since the inception of Op Jemlock, the office of the county's Police and Crime Commissioner reports that there has been a 9% reduction in all knife crime offences and a 12% reduction in victims of knife crime aged under 25.

Robbery offences, which sometimes involve a knife or the threat of a knife, are also down 12%.

The Force has launched a week of action to specifically target violent crime, which is in addition to the significant work routinely undertaken.

Superintendent Damon Solley, of the Force’s Violence Reduction Operation Jemlock, said: “Officers working on Operation Jemlock are teaming up with locally based neighbourhood officers to focus on violence and knife crime which we are determined to tackle.

“This crime type causes so much suffering for victims, their loved ones and the wider community.

“The officers are carrying out activities across West Yorkshire in an effort to remove the presence of weapons from the streets and deter those who are considering carrying weapons.

“It is never the right choice to carry a knife or any type of weapon, as it places people at a higher risk of becoming involved in violence and sustaining serious injury.

“We are keen to involve all agencies and organisations in this week of action as it is an issue we must tackle together.”

Mark Burns-Williamson, the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for West Yorkshire, said: “I am pleased to see first-hand, that targeted operational activity is really making a difference throughout our communities to directly tackle serious and violent crime.

“At the end of 2019, we have started to establish an emerging Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) for West Yorkshire, following some ring-fenced funding from the Home Office.

“The Unit has adopted a new approach to reducing violence within our communities and is bringing together a variety of agencies including education, health, local government, third/voluntary sector, law enforcement and others to get a better understanding to help tackle the underlying causes of serious violence.

“Early intervention and prevention is key, people need to understand that carrying a knife can lead to serious, devastating consequences and can destroy lives, so we are collectively doing all we can to prevent people from making such dangerous decisions in the first place to carry a weapon through targeted intelligence work.

“Those individuals who are found to be breaking the law will be dealt with robustly so our message is don’t do it and we will work hard together to prevent such serious and violent crime from occurring and offer more positive pathways for people to make positive choices about their lives.”

Superintendent Solley added: “Operation Jemlock has been enabled through dedicated funding to tackle violence and knife crime.

“We deploy a number of officers every day who concentrate specifically on tackling violence, knife crime and robbery.

“We are determined to reduce this crime type in West Yorkshire as it causes so much harm and has become a scourge on communities.

“I am extremely proud of our officers and the efforts they have made so far. However, the problem still persists.

“It is a constant and sustained approach which must continue if we are to see further reductions.

“All too often we see people using knives or weapons in crime. We take this very seriously and will continue to work tirelessly to reduce the numbers.”

Since April 2019 until the end of January, Operation Jemlock has achieved the following:

  • 2,101 arrests
  • 1,544 stop and search inquiries
  • 144 weapons seized
  • 3,790 intelligence submissions