Staffordshire Police

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.

Rogue traders will be kept at bay in Stoke-on-Trent this month with a series of events to stop doorstep crime. As part of Rogue Trader Awareness month the city council’s Trading Standards is carrying out a series of doorstep crime talks to vulnerable residents. The talks will target the city’s most vulnerable residents at different locations across the city and will offer advice and support on how to tackle doorstep crime.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council and its Local Strategic Partners have had 10% cut from their Area Based Grant due to savings handed down to them by the Government. The Area Based Grant, is an amount of money given to local authorities each year. It is used to fund joint projects with other public bodies such as Staffordshire Police and NHS Stoke-on-Trent. The reduction in funding, equating to around £3.4million from areas of work of the Local Strategic Partnership.

Police in Stoke-on-Trent will be working hard with bars to ensure the tournament is a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone. We want to ensure the atmosphere in our town/city centres is good-natured. There will be a highly visible presence on match days in town centres and communities ensuring we have enough officers on duty to deal with any problems that may arise.

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.

A number of police surgeries are scheduled to be held across Stoke-on-Trent over the weekend. Officers from Neighbourhood Policing Units (NPUs) across the division will be on hand to meet residents to discuss any issues or concerns. On Friday 28 May officers from Longton NPU are holding two surgeries. Officers will be at the town’s market between 9.30am and 12noon. Their colleagues will be at the Gilani Noor Mosque, Chaplin Road, at 1.30pm.

Rumours have been circulating on Social networking sites such as Twitter & Facebook that police are banning England football shirts in pubs & public places during the World Cup. Staffordshire Police have joined police forces around the country to dispel these rumours.

Police officers investigating the disorder which occurred at the end of the Port Vale v Shrewsbury match on Saturday 8 May 2010 have today released a number of images of men wanted for questioning in relation to public order offences. A total of eight people were arrested on the day on the fixture, who remain on police bail until next month. Since the match police have been reviewing hours of closed circuit television (CCTV) footage and police video footage to identify those involved in the diso