Police swoop in to make arrests (From Ealing Times)

Police swoop in to make arrests

1:58pm Tuesday 4th December 2001

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BURGLARS and car thieves have been targeted in a major police operation which has netted more than 100 criminals across Hertfordshire in just two weeks.

Operation Hawk was launched by Hertfordshire police on November 19 and the initiative has successfully arrested 108 criminals from throughout the county and beyond.

Using DNA evidence and new information gathering systems, teams of detectives and uniformed officers stormed a number of addresses in Hertfordshire and London in early-morning raids.

So far, police have made four arrests in St Albans, four in London Colney and one in Harpenden. Officers also arrested four people in Welwyn Garden City and five in Hatfield.

Operation Hawk is the first major operation since Hertfordshire Constabulary introduced a new intelligence-led style of policing in October 2001.

The scheme has proved such a success that officers hope to continue into the New Year.

Enhanced intelligence units with an increased number of specialist staff are at the heart of this new approach, allowing the operation to make extensive use of forensic evidence such as DNA and fingerprinting to identify perpetrators.

"We wanted to take advantage of all the intelligence and forensic evidence we have already gathered and use it to take offenders off the streets," said assistant chief constable Simon Ash.

"Officers and support staff have worked extremely hard to achieve these targets in the run up to Christmas."

Chief Constable Paul Acres added: "Operation Hawk is about tackling the criminals to make our county safer. We are targeting these individuals and taking them out of circulation.

"I am particularly pleased to see the number of burglars who have been arrested, especially as the dark evenings are a favourite time for these individuals.

"Operation Hawk is about transferring fear from the innocent to the guilty: specifically the fear of being identified, the fear of being caught and the fear of being punished.

"We are determined to maintain Hertfordshire's position as a safe county and the message from Operation Hawk to all criminals is we are out to get you," said Mr Acres.

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