Police chief gives his round up of detective work in Fenland

MARCH

Following a series of high value shoplifting offences in the town, local neighbourhood officers began an operation to catch offenders. I am pleased to say that following this a man was arrested. The local Dedicated Crime Team took over the enquiry and a man has now been positively dealt with for 15 offences.

WISBECH

In Wisbech, detectives have followed on from last month’s successes in tackling street robbery. Following a number of offences in the town two youths have been charged with robbery committed against a number of youngsters.

HUNTINGDON

I’ll start with some good news regarding a serious crime that occurred in October. Following a report to police that a taxi driver was robbed in Godmanchester, I can inform you that a man has been arrested, charged with robbery and remanded into custody.

Through thorough investigation a number of crimes reported in Huntingdon this month have been found to be falsely reported. In one case a man alleged that had been robbed in his home. As a result he has charged with wasting police time and has since pleaded guilty at court. We will not tolerate false reports of crime and will take positive action against anyone found to be doing so.

We don’t always work in uniform and take any opportunity we can to proactively patrol in plain clothes. An example of how successful this can be was in October when a man was seen by officers carrying a large full rucksack. He was stopped and meat worth more than �500 was found, which had been stolen from a shop in Brampton. A man has been charged with theft and remanded into custody.

Finally for Huntingdon, two men have been charged with two burglaries which occurred at a hostel in Huntingdon.

ST NEOTS

Back in October, a man was seen by a witness to be in a garage in Eynesbury. The eagle-eyed witness believed the man must have forced entry. A man was stopped at the scene and police attendance saw they were arrested. A man has since been charged with burglary. This displayed excellent community spirit and courage in tackling the suspect.

Suspects were reported to be stealing the lead and other metal from a building site completing renovation work at a church in Buckden. On police attendance one man was seen to run away, unfortunately for them they could not out run the police dog and he was arrested at the scene. A second man did make their escape. Enquiries continue with this case. Metal theft is a significant issue for neighbourhoods as offenders believe they can ruin buildings to find something to sell. Please be extra vigilant around this and report any suspicious activities.

Officers in plain clothes observed a suspicious man leave the Co-op store in Buckden carrying a full carrier bag. The officers stopped this man and on searching him they found a large amount of meat and alcohol. Further enquiries showed these items had been stolen and that the offender had been responsible for other offences of theft from shops. A man was charged with one offence of shoplifting and asked for a further five offences of theft to be taken into consideration. He was remanded into custody and will be sentenced shortly.

A man from St Neots has been arrested on suspicion of committing house burglaries in the town. These were daytime offences when jewellery and electrical items were targeted. As a result a man has been charged with three burglaries and also a theft from a car. He has been remanded into custody.

ST IVES

This month a man has been charged with dwelling burglary. The offence occurred in the town in October when a man entered a house through an insecure door and stole food.

That’s everything for this month. I hope you have found this message useful. I will aim to give you another update next month and every month thereafter. If you have any information about a crime, please report it to us on 0345 456 456 4. In emergencies always call 999. Why not check out the Force Website at www.cambs.police.uk which is crammed full of useful information.