Police in crackdown on armed gangs

OFFICERS will use air and ground patrols to protect cash delivery vans in a crackdown on armed robberies.

The six North-West police forces and the security industry launched a joint operation yesterday to prevent raids and target criminals in the run-up to Christmas.

The action is co-ordinated by the North-West Regional Organised Crime Unit (Titan), the regional collaboration to tackle serious and organised crime groups involved in drug trafficking, armed robberies, firearms, aggravated burglaries and other serious crimes.

Officers from Titan, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Lancashire, Cumbria and North Wales, the British Security Industry Association (BSIA), SaferCash and other partner agencies will be working together to combat cash-in-transit robberies.

The campaign will involve officers using high-visibility and covert patrols on the ground and in the air to escort security vehicles.

So far this year 27 offenders have been convicted and sentenced to more than 335 years in prison for such robberies.

Det-Chief Supt Paul Richardson, head of Titan, said: “The North-West has seen significant reductions in cash-in-transit robberies in recent years and our message to criminals contemplating carrying out these kind of crimes in the run-up to Christmas is clear — we will find you and we will make sure you spend your Christmas behind bars.