Crackdown will root out 'hidden crime' by drug dealers trying to set up in Northamptonshire, says police chief

Northamptonshire Police has begun a crackdown on "hidden crime" based on tip-offs and information from residents.

An ongoing Northamptonshire crackdown will aim to help vulnerable people who are being exploited by criminals to get a foothold in the county, a police chief has claimed.

Northamptonshire Police yesterday (July 14) announced they had launched a '100-day crackdown' that will home in on safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.

It will include a focus on serious organised crime, sexual violence, domestic abuse, child exploitation and cuckooing in a bid to root out criminals using tip-offs and reports from the county's communities.

Assistant chief constable Simon Blatchly told the Chronicle & Echo today the aim was to stamp out "hidden" crime with the support of the public.

He said: "We're aiming to carry out some high-profile policing activity to support the most vulnerable in society and crack down on criminality.

"It's about not letting people move into this area. We are really keen that we don't allow drug-dealing to get a foothold in the county.

"We had great success with Operation Poetry [a large scale operation against county lines drug gangs] in closing down the market and now we're making sure no one comes in to fill the void."

Overall crime has reportedly fallen in the county during the Covid-19 crisis in line with the rest of the country.

But police it has now led to a focus on "hidden crime" committed behind closed doors in neighbourhoods, like cuckooing, domestic violence, and gangs grooming children to sell drugs.

The crackdown will include a campaign for neighbourhoods to "spot the signs" of criminals taking root in their communities.

ACC Blatchly said: "Our concern is that these incidents have risen over lockdown and we need to encourage people to come forward and report it so we can act and make people safe. They are not alone and we are here to help.

"We have had lot of information and support from the public in recent months that we have been able to act on. We want to see that public support continue and to urge residents to keep reporting that information and stop criminals from setting up in our county."

Anybody wishing to report information anonymously can do so by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.