Police operation sees 49 people arrested across the county

A county wide operation to crackdown on burglary saw 49 people arrested on suspicion of a variety of crimes over the bank holiday weekend.

West Yorkshire Police also seized 32 vehicles and recovered five stolen vehicles as part of its Viper 4 operation.

The arrests were made in Wakefield, Leeds, Bradford and Huddersfield for offences including burglary, drug possession and supply, possession of an offensive weapon, assault, fail to stop and drink driving. Over four days, officers stopped a total of 359 vehicles and 282 people.

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The operation was launched from the new police complex on Carr gate, Wakefield.

Supt Pat Casserly, who led the operation, said: “Our focused activity over the bank holiday weekend has resulted in a number of significant arrests. Operation Viper is not just about getting people in custody but also preventing offences happening in the first place by putting the fear back on the criminals.

“It is clear that the message is getting out there with one convicted offender telling officers that he was going home because ‘the big dogs are out’. Reported burglaries over the bank holiday weekend were down 20 per cent compared to last year; and over the last month as a whole we have seen 176 fewer offences reported than the same period last year.

“It is not just about statistics on a spreadsheet though. Every time a burglar is constrained by our tactics it means there is another family living in West Yorkshire who have not had to experience the devastating effect of this crime.

“A large part of the four day operation concentrated on stopping and checking vehicles and I would like to take this opportunity to thank affected members of the public for their patience.”