We Don’t Buy Crime blog: 2023 so far
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Welcome to the fifth edition of our acquisitive crime blog.
In this edition of our acquisitive crime blog, we'll be looking at the important work that our We Don't Buy Crime (WDBC) and rural crime teams have been carrying out throughout 2023 so far.
So far this year, the WDBC team have been working hard to provide crime prevention advice and tools to local communities and businesses, to help keep them safe.
In the first six months of the year, the team:
- recovered £23,000 worth of stolen goods
- reviewed 5,091 acquisitive crimes
- delivered 447 educational inputs
- distributed 373 crime prevention packs
- forensically marked 109 bikes
- deployed 23 covert assets.
Inspector Carl Morgan said:
“The team understands the impact that acquisitive crime can have on individuals, communities, and businesses, and work hard to help minimise the risk of these crimes happening.
“So far this year, the team have had some amazing results and have recovered thousands of pounds worth of stolen with the help of forensic marking technology.
“If you’d like crime prevention advice from the team, or crime prevention packs that include SmartWater, in order to keep your property or business safe, then follow the team on Twitter to find out when they’re holding and attending events.”
The team are dedicated to helping individuals and business protect their property, just take a look at how they achieve these results…
In May, the team welcomed colleagues from West Mercia Police to discuss best practise for tackling acquisitive crimes. They discussed our approach to supporting our communities and heard what West Mercia have been doing to support theirs.
Teamwork and partnership working are a vital part of the WDBC team’s role.
As part of our Safer Streets project, 40 businesses in the Felnex industrial estate were given crime prevention equipment that included signage and forensic marking equipment.
Safer Streets is a Gwent initiative to help tackle burglary offences across Gwent.
The team assisted Torfaen and Blaenau Gwent officers during an Op Harley operation in May.
Operation Harley is our approach to the illegal and anti-social use of off-road vehicles.
The team joined officers on patrols to use SmartTag for the first time. SmartTag is a forensic marking spray that allows officers to spray offenders from up to 10m away, leaving a forensic link between the spray can and the offender.
The team also make sure to take some time to meet the younger members of our communities too.
PC Moore popped by Coed-Y-Brain school to chat with our Heddlu Bach about the role of police officers and how to keep safe – they also got to sit inside a police car, which they loved!
Rural crime
As always, the rural crime team have also been working hard to help fight acquisitive crime in the more rural areas of Gwent.
In addition to their usual commitments such as Operation Nightwatch patrols and community surgeries, in May the rural crime team attended a regional drone meeting arranged by the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC). The meeting was held to discuss how drones can help officers detect and tackle rural crimes such as wildlife and heritage crime.
In May alone, the rural crime team dealt with:
- 276 off-road bike calls
- 50 livestock calls
- 17 deliberate grass fires
- four reports of heritage crimes
- two reports of livestock attacks.
But that’s not all that the team has been up to:
- they investigated an alleged wildlife crime involving the disturbance of pigeon nests which resulted in a local petition being compiled and attracted media interest.
- the team took park in a cross-border operation with partner agencies that targeted the illegal use of off-road bikes
- officers participated in a stakeholder meeting chaired where they discussed how to tackle off-road bike issues across Gwent.
For information and advice on rural crime and how to prevent it, click here.
To find out more about upcoming events and the work that the teams are doing, follow the them on Twitter:
If you would like to find out more about how the team can help you, please email [email protected] or [email protected].
If you witness a crime, please call 101, use our online reporting system, or message us on Facebook and Twitter. You can also report it 100% anonymously to Crimestoppers via their website or by calling 0800 555 111.
In an emergency, always dial 999.