Crackdown in Thornton Heath
27 September 2012
Police and various partners have been out in force in Thornton Heath carrying out various enforcement activities to crack down on crime and antisocial behaviour in the area.
Yesterday, (26 September) officers from the Safer Neighbourhoods Teams (SNTs) in Bensham Manor, Broad Green, Selhurst, Thornton Heath and West Thornton joined together to focus their efforts in and around Thornton Heath High Street, with the operation being led by Acting Sergeant Rumi Miah from the Thornton Heath SNT.
“Today was about coming together with our partner agencies to tackle all manner of crimes."
Officers worked with colleagues from Croydon Council, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and UK Border Agency (UKBA) to crack down on a whole range of offences from parking offences through to immigration offences.
An Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) operation led by Croydon Council Bailiffs was carried out to identify vehicles and drivers who had not paid various fines and fifty vehicles were stopped, which resulted in approximately £3,500 being recovered in unpaid fines.
Police carried out six weapons sweeps in the surrounding area including searches at Mefort Park and The Retreat, although no weapons were found.
HMRC visited 16 shops in the area and following the visits, will be investigating the shops further for matters relating to tax evasion and benefit fraud. UKBA also carried out 20 checks and four people were arrested in connection with immigration offences.
Fines or enforcement action was also taken against an unlicensed street collector, an unlicensed street trader and four shops that were breaching the conditions of their license. Four other premises were also given advice and reminders of the terms of their licences following minor breaches.
Acting Inspector Dan Atkins, who leads the five SNTs in the area said:
“Today was about coming together - both our SNTs and also our partner agencies from the Council, UKBA and HMRC to tackle all variety of offences.
“From our point of view, it has been a successful operation and should hopefully show the local community that we are all determined to reduce crime and antisocial behaviour in Thornton Heath and the surrounding area.
“Although some of the offences we’ve targeted today may seem fairly minor, it sets a tone that this kind of behaviour is not acceptable and that the relevant authority will take action whether you’ve not paid a parking ticket or whether you’re involved in violent crime.”