Crime

Staffordshire Police arrested a 32 year old male in Longport this afternoon. The male was wanted in relation to a serious incident in Merseyside. Officers were made aware of a vehicle travelling on the M6 South at around 1.15 pm which it suspected to be carrying a suspect. The vehicle was spotted within minutes by a neighbourhood officer on patrol who relayed the information to the area control room at Hanley.

Figures presented to Staffordshire Police Authority today, (20 July) show that more than 1,400 fewer crimes were recorded in Staffordshire between April and June 2010, compared to the same period last year. The total number of offences dropped by almost seven per cent to 19,034. 
During the same three-month period in 2009 the total number of offences was 20,451. Business-related crime has also fallen to 2,176 from 2,523, a drop of almost 14 per cent.

A gritty and thought-provoking 3 minute film produced by Staffordshire Police, shows three dramatised accounts of the violent effects of alcohol: an incident of domestic violence, a violent assault in a pub, and a road traffic collision. The force has produced the three-minute video about the consequences of drinking too much, being launched today as part of a YouTube and Facebook viral marketing campaign.

A 36-year-old man, from Stoke-on-Trent, has been arrested in connection with a house fire on Lightwood Road in Longton. Staffordshire Fire & Rescue Service were called to a house on Lightwood Road in Longton at around 4am this morning. A motorcycle next to the property was ablaze and the flames had spread to the entrance of the three-storey property, blocking the five occupant’s exit and trapping them inside in a bedroom.

Last Friday (4 June) officers from the Staffordshire Police Road Crime Team targeted illegal drivers in Stoke-on-Trent with their latest operation.  ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) equipped vehicles were used to help identify vehicles likely to be committing road traffic offences or vehicles likely to be used in crime in the Cobridge and Etruria areas of the city including the main A53 Newcastle to Leek route. The team were joined by specialists from VOSA and Customs and Excise.

Following a series of morning raids across the north of Stoke-on-Trent, Operation Nemises continues to yield results. Two men and one woman from the Chell area of the city will today appear in court on serious drugs related charges. Staffordshire Police had raided 5 properties as part of the ongoing Operation Nemesis.

Staffordshire Police raided 5 properties in the Chell Heath Area of the city this morning as part of the ongoing Operation Nemesis. The 5 properties, all in close proximity to each other around Monks Neil Park, were raided simultaneously by around 30 undercover officers who used force to gain entry.

Yesterday we reported on the damage caused to Stoke Minster by lead thieves, today we have heard that Longton Fire Station is the latest of an increasing number of buildings in Stoke-on-Trent to have had the unwelcome attention of lead thieves. Thieves managed to remove lead tiles worth £3000 from the roof of the station sometime before 27 April. Staff only noticed the theft after it had rained overnight on 27 April and they were faced with flooded rooms the next morning.

The Rector of Stoke, the Revd Preb David Lingwood has launched and emergency appeal this morning to raise over £30,000 for repairs to the roof of Stoke Minster.