Operation Tornado swoops back into York and Selby

Yesterday (03 September), the city of York along with Selby saw extensive and proactive policing activity, with increased high visibility patrols for 24 hours as well as a community engagement day in the heart of the city centre.

Officers made a total of eight arrests for a range of offences including drug offences, theft and cycle crime. During the operation three warrants were executed, two in York and one in Tadcaster.

Operation Tornado rotates around North Yorkshire on a monthly basis providing a dedicated area with additional resources for a 24-hour period. Yesterday’s operation saw officers targeting perpetrators of burglary, cycle crime and drug dealing.

It was an early start in York as Chief Constable Tim Forber joined officers to put a door in within the Clifton area at address that was linked to money laundering.

A further warrant was executed in York on Fourth Avenue in Tang Hall. Inside the property officers discovered a 100 wraps of crack cocaine and heroin, four machetes, a sword and approximately £1000 in cash. Four people, two men aged 23 and 34 as well as two boys aged 17 were arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of class – A drugs.

Meanwhile in the city centre , cycle crime and road safety were the key themes of the day as the local neighbourhood policing team organised a large engagement event outside York Minster. Various departments from across North Yorkshire Police hosted stands alongside key partners which included the York Rescue Boat and Yorkshire Air Ambulance. In the driving seat for the day was York’s new beat Inspector, Jen Stockwell. Having only been in post for just over a month Jen used the day to meet local people and listen to their concerns. As cycle crime remains a key priority for the city, officers used special anti-tamper stickers on bikes and ensured that they registered them on the BikeRegister database. 

Also in York there was two arrested for immigration offences, £5000 cash seized under POCA and hundreds of illegal vapes, under the counter tobacco, unregistered medication and out of date food supplies.

Across the city officers deployed in plain clothes and uniform as they used specialist tactics to catch offenders who are on the lookout for bikes. A black Carrera Vengeance electric bike was stolen from Deangate. The information was quickly circulated which alerted eagle-eyed CCTV operators who observed the suspect leaving the area. He was quickly traced back to an address in Clifton where officers arrested a man in his 30s on suspicion of theft. Following enquiries at the police station he was subsequently charged and remanded in custody.

In Tadcaster, officers executed a warrant at an address on Kelcbar close following information about the supply of drugs. Elsewhere in the town high visibility patrols resulted in a shoplifting arrest. Shortly after 1.30pm the Sainsburys store on Mill Lane reported via 999 that a man had stolen meat to the value of approximately £500. Officers immediately attended and within 15 minutes they had a suspect detained, the man in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of shop theft. Enquiries are continuing.

Burglary remains a key priority for the local Neighbourhood Policing team with officers working hard to flush out criminal activity from villages close to the South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire border. As dusk set,  specialist operations teams swept into the area to join neighbourhood officers for a hard-hitting burglary operation. The team covered various miles in plain and marked vehicles focusing on villages to the south of Selby. Officers from the Rural Task Force used their local knowledge to patrol through the night. Specialist equipment including drones and nigh vision goggles were used to help officers as part of their patrols.

Chief Constable Tim Forber from North Yorkshire Police said: “ Operation Tornado bolsters the daily work of our Neighbourhood Policing Teams by increasing the visibility.

“Alongside the proactive operations to target criminals we had the community engagement event outside York Minster. These events show the public what we are doing to drive down crime and keep them safe.

“It’s important that the public know that if you’re a criminal in North Yorkshire we will make it as difficult as possible to operate here”.

The area commander for York and Selby, Superintendent Ed Haywood-Noble added: “ This high intensity activity shows that we will not accept criminal activity in York and Selby.

“Working closely with local people in our communities we remain focused on flushing out those who are responsible for committing crime and bringing them to justice”.