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Christmas Crackdown on
Cash In Transit Robbers
MERSEYSIDE Police and other Forces
across the North West of England, are stepping up patrols to prevent cash
delivery vans being targeted by robbers in the run up to Christmas.
Detectives from 'Titan', the regional organised crime unit,
are working alongside officers from Merseyside, Greater Manchester,
Lancashire, Cheshire, Cumbria and North Wales to combat the threat.
Uniformed officers will be routinely following vans delivering and
collecting cash from ATMS and to banks and post offices to ensure that
security guards can do so safely during their busiest time of the year. The
number of 'cash in transit robberies' has fallen in all force
areas since 2009 thanks to greater sharing of intelligence between the
Police and the cash companies, improved security measures in the vans to
protect the cash, and Police operations such as Operation Guardian in
Merseyside and Operation Vault in Lancashire. In 2009 there were 189 across
the region compared to 50 in this calendar year. However attacks still
occur, particularly in Greater Manchester and Merseyside, and Titan is
working with individual forces and the security industry to target the gangs
responsible and stop employees and businesses suffering from these crimes.
Detective Inspector Jon Smith from Titan's regional intelligence unit,
said:- "Cash in transit robberies have greatly reduced in recent years
but they still remain a priority for the police and are extremely serious
crimes. The victims are just ordinary members of the public doing their job
yet an attack can have lasting physical and psychological damage. Innocent
members of the public can get caught up in the incident and also be
affected, as can staff working at the business where the cash was being
delivered to or collected from. Investigations into these crime by local
forces have had some great successes and have resulted in offenders being
jailed for up to 10 years. Our intelligence shows that offenders are working
as organised criminal groups who are travelling from 1 part of the region to
commit crimes in another, which means that it is in everyone's interests to
tackle this threat together. Detectives at Titan work closely with SaferCash
analysts and security experts to spot similarities between robberies across
the region both in terms of the offenders themselves and how they carry out
their attacks. We also link in with investigation teams in each force to
support their extensive efforts to catch the offenders. We are committed to
using a number of different methods to protect cash deliveries and make it
as difficult as possible for criminals this Christmas. Patrols routinely
follows vans to give a visible police presence during deliveries and police
helicopters can be deployed to neighbouring areas to pursue offenders,
leaving them nowhere to hide. There are also devices to protect the cash,
including dyes which stain notes rendering them useless and stain skin and
clothing too/ It means criminals are taking a significant risk of being
caught if they chose to commit this type of crime this Christmas."
Det Ch Insp Colin Radcliffe from Merseyside Police added:- "Here in
Merseyside we run Operation Guardian throughout the festive period to
protect cash delivery vehicles, the guards themselves and the wider public.
The attacks have fallen on Merseyside year on year thanks to a number of
criminal gangs being caught and jailed following successful investigations
by our Matrix Serious Organised Crime unit. However we cannot be complacent
and during December our mobile patrols will be following cash vans on a
daily basis wherever in Merseyside they are working and this should act both
as a deterrent to would be criminals as well as a reassurance to the public
who should never have to witness this kind of traumatic incident."
Supt Simon Giles, of South Division, Lancashire Police, said:- "We are
stepping up our fight against criminals who carry out robberies of
commercial and financial premises. In the run up to the festive period many
businesses enjoy an increase in takings and we want to ensure that it is the
business that benefits from this financial boost rather than a burglar or
robber who may seek to take this as an opportunity for unlawful gain. We
want to raise awareness of such crimes to encourage businesses to take crime
prevention steps to avoid becoming a victim. Police patrols will routinely
be deployed across the county to monitor cash deliveries and collections
and, if local businesses want the support of the Police, they should let us
know."
Cash in transit robberies, the key facts according to Merseyside Police:-
► There have been 50 incidents in the North West
of England, over 2015, compared to 189 in 2009 and 89 in 2010.
► Offenders brandish some form of weapon in around
¾ of these robberies which shows the threat cash delivery guards face while
simply doing their job.
► Thankfully, injuries to guards are rare (approx
a 6th of all incidents).
► Earlier this year 23 year old Matthew Clarke
from Manchester was jailed for 7½ years for conspiring with others to rob a
supermarket in Cheadle Hulme in which a guard was slashed on the hand with a
machete.
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