Nottinghamshire Police have revealed two suspects were arrested in our village within the space of a few minutes this week thanks to a new crackdown on car thefts.
Operational Support and Response officers have stepped up targeted patrols around the Edwalton area, following a recent rise in vehicle theft reports there, and were carrying out one such patrol when a car was taken from a local driveway.
Within minutes of receiving that report, at around 3.15am yesterday (Monday 23rd October), police spotted the vehicle in Ruddington, along Kirk Lane. The car was quickly pulled over and a suspect on board was detained; at which point officers also noticed another vehicle a couple of hundred metres away that aroused their suspicions.
After witnessing the other car suddenly turn off into Flawforth Avenue, police started to follow. The driver of the car then quickly abandoned the vehicle and tried to flee on foot but didn’t get far before being detained in nearby Loughborough Road.
Checks carried out on the second car, revealing it had also been stolen from the area earlier that morning. Two men, aged 27 and 36, were subsequently arrested on suspicion of theft.
Inspector Katie Eustace, of Nottinghamshire Police, says: “Thanks to the awareness and teamwork showcased by the Operational Support and Response officers involved in this incident, we were able to intercept two stolen cars within just a few minutes of them being taken. As well as arresting two suspects, which is positive, we were also able to quickly return both vehicles to their rightful owners, so this was a great piece of police work all round.”
Inspector Tim Cuthbert, neighbourhood policing inspector for Rushcliffe, reveals: “We have recently seen an increase in vehicle thefts in and around the Edwalton area, so have taken a number of measures to try and crackdown on this as we understand how much of an impact these types of offences can have. As part of this, our officers have stepped up targeted patrols of the area, in a bid to deter this type of criminality, respond to reports quicker and hopefully catch offenders in the act too, with this work leading to three arrests in the space of the last month.”
He adds: “This proactive work will continue going forward and we hope it provides the public with some reassurance about just how seriously we take all reports of vehicle theft. This was a great example of our teams – in this case our Operational Support and Response officers – working together to get a positive result, so I’d like to commend all the officers involved in this job for their efforts.”
Anyone with any information relating to these incidents is asked to contact Nottinghamshire police on 101 or online >>HERE<<, quoting incident 48 of 23rd October 2023, or report it to anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
