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Met Police have released images of people they are looking to trace under Operation Vanguard, an effort to protect cash in transit (CIT) delivery companies and to capture CIT criminals.
The Flying Squad reports that the number of cash-in-transit robberies in the capital in the 2006-7 financial year to November was 301, compared with 151 for all of 2004-5.
CCTV operators based on boroughs have also been briefed on what suspicious activity to be aware of, and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) operations are in place.
The release of more images follows on from six images issued at the beginning of December when the Vanguard initiative was announced in London. A similar scheme was featured in the November issue of Professional Security. By providing tailored briefings to colleagues on selected boroughs, plus using specialist officers from the Territorial Support Group, the firearms unit and traffic units the areas most affected have already started to see positive results, the Met reports.
By mid-December Operation Vanguard resulted in:
645 stops on the Operation Vanguard boroughs by units deployed by the Flying Squad.
78 arrests overall: 58 for crime such as robberies (commercial and personal), handling stolen goods and drugs offences. The final 20 have been for driving/immigration offences. The Met claims that some 63pc of all CIT vehicles registered with the Operation Vanguard operational office received an escort for all or part of their trip.
Comparative analysis of the three week period before the operation and the corresponding period last year shows a decrease in CIT robberies. This is represented across all Met boroughs, not just those targeted by Vanguard.
What they say
Detective Supt Bob Cummings, from the Flying Squad, said: "The Flying Squad have had a large number of successes recently in combating those responsible for robberies within our remit, with offenders sentenced to over 750 years. We aim to continue that success as well as tackling new challenges we face. By launching the first phase of Operation Vanguard we are continuing to offer reassurance to the industry and in particular the couriers who make the deliveries. It also sends a strong message to those involved in this type of criminality.
"We are obviously concerned with the rise in offences, but criminals should be aware the Flying Squad is a robust proactive and reactive unit with many years experience of dealing with these types of crimes. We have been in existence for nearly eighty years and during that time the nature of the crime we investigate has inevitably evolved, but so have we. We will continue that process and will be here long after those responsible have been caught."
