Good Morning to you all,

I am very pleased to inform you all that here in Richmondshire in April alone, we seized at least 74 more vehicles during a push to tackle cross-border criminals, uninsured drivers, plus other motorists committing document offences. 

In total, since I started reporting back to you as residents last October, we have now seized at least 413 vehicles from the streets of Richmondshire which I am extremely pleased about.

So the message I will continue to send out is, Uninsured? Vehicle used for crime? Not Taxed? Visit Richmondshire and it’s getting seized is the message we are still sending out far and wide!

Handheld technology, rolled out to Neighbourhood Policing teams and Response teams in Richmondshire last year, has helped our rural local officers identify travelling criminals more quickly.

The new technology identifies uninsured drivers. If you've ever been hit by an uninsured driver, you'll know why that's important!

Up here in Richmondshire, we patrol some of the most remote and sparsely-populated communities in northern England.

So seizing vehicles linked to crime is a very effective way of stopping criminals who travel here, before they’ve even had chance to commit an offence.

With the use of this technology, which my team and other Officers can use through a mobile phone, we can identify potential criminals and other illegal road users more quickly and on a wider scale.

Because we’re mostly a rural area, some criminals think we’re a soft target. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

In fact, cross-border criminals stand out to us and we heavily patrol routes we know they use. On top of that, we’re using technology that helps us identify them in an instant and is very difficult to evade.

So my message to anyone thinking of coming to Richmondshire to commit crime is very simple – the odds are really not in their favour and they’ll be making a huge mistake.

If you are not aware, seized vehicles are taken to compounds where they are stored for a set amount of time.

Impounded vehicles may then be crushed and recycled if they are not claimed after a certain period. 

One of the reasons vehicle seizures are effective is because they disrupt criminality, as offenders who travel into rural areas no longer have the means to move around.

As well as patrolling larger roads such as the A66, we also patrol smaller rural roads that are known routes for travelling criminals.

Sometimes suspects we arrest are surprised that we know where they were, or the routes they were using. In reality, we know the area far better than most criminals.

We have the advantage, which is bad news for travelling criminals but great news for you, the law-abiding public of Richmondshire who we’re here to keep safe.

I would be really grateful if you would respond accordingly below if you found this alert useful, so I can monitor feedback to assist me with future alerts.

Thank you very much for your time.

Martin