Two-week operation sees police tackle street-level crime

The Huddersfield and Dewsbury Town Centre Teams joined forces with British Transport Police and partners for a two-week operation tackling all aspects of anti-social behaviour (ASB) in both towns.

Operations conducted in the first two weeks of July saw officers mount a range of high visibility operations in both town centres including patrols tackling street drinking and related ASB.

Work in Huddersfield Station with British Transport Police saw officers deploy a knife arch resulting in one man being arrested on suspicion of Class A drugs and possession of illegal weapons offences.

Repeated proactive patrols were also undertaken in the St Peter’s Gardens area of Huddersfield in response to public concern about ASB and drug crime there in recent months.

These illegal cigarettes were seized in Kirklees (Image: West Yorkshire Police)

Meanwhile, joint work with West Yorkshire Trading Standards resulted in £10,000 worth of tobacco seized which included 15,000 cigarettes and 800g of hand rolling tobacco.

Officers also cracked down on fake perfume sellers with one man stopped, and several boxes of fake perfume seized under the Trades Mark Act 1994.

A focus on road safety also saw Dewsbury officers join with the DVLA, DVSA and taxi licencing to check 60 vehicles, 36 of which were taxis.

Fifteen per cent of these were reported for defects, a further 14 vehicles were issued vehicle defect rectification notices for illegal number plates, and one vehicle was seized for no insurance.

Sergeant Amanda Holroyd of the Kirklees Town Centre Partnership, said: “Officers have been highly active in Kirklees with partner agencies over the past two weeks conducting operations to address a full spectrum of street-level crime.

“Street drinking and related ASB can and does cause real misery to residents and it has been pleasing to see street drinking in particular has notably reduced in both town centres compared to this point in 2022.”