Undercover work will bust dealers, claims top cop (From Warrington Guardian)

Undercover work will bust dealers, claims top cop

UNDERCOVER crackdowns on drug dealers should help cut burglaries and vehicle crimes in Crewe and Nantwich, says the borough's top police officer.

Household break-ins and car crime has risen by 17 and 40 per cent respectively, year-on-year, according to latest figures released.

And the level of violent crime has risen by nearly 30 per cent, figures presented to Crewe and Nantwich Police Forum show.

But Chief Supt Ian Hopkins, the borough's new divisional commander, is hopeful work to crack local drug rings will stem the tide of 'acquisitive crime.'

Just last month four heroin and crack cocaine dealers were jailed for 14 years in total after an undercover operation.

Mr Hopkins has also appealed to motorists to help assist the force in tackling the scourge of vehicle crime.

Drivers are well aware of the dangers of leaving expensive laptops and mobile phones on display inside their cars.

But now thieves are using modern technology to track down mobiles or electronic organisers which may even have been left inside people's boots.

Using a Bluetooth device, car criminals can pinpoint other similar phones or handsets within a given radius - even if they are hidden from view.

Responding to the rise in violent crime, the chief superintendent told the Guardian that this could be partly attributed to the constabulary's new crime recording bureau at Winsford.

Previously an officer would have had discretion over whether an offence was recorded as a violent incident.

But the bureau's introduction meant all offences reported were now recorded.