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Hot-shot West Midlands cops claim victory over truck crime
Page 14
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TRUCK CRIME in the West Midlands has fallen 69% since the region's police force set up a dedicated team of officers to tackle the issue.
Following the success of its Operation Coppergold, the force has now expanded the unit to incorporate all vehicle crime across the region under Operation Safer Motors.
Detective chief inspector Tim Godwin, former head of Operation Coppergold,says that over the last eight months the 12-man unit has gone from answering 60 truck crime calls a month to just six: "The success of Operation Coppergold meant that we could no longer justify having this team dedicated to truck crime. The West Midlands police now aim to build upon Coppergold as part of the new unit and take a holistic approach to vehicle crime. "However, it is important that neither the police nor industry become complacent about this success; we need to keep on top of these villains.
"As a result of Operation Coppergold police officers in general now have better knowledge of how to deal with and investigate lorry crime. But it important that operators continue to improve security, vet employees,and report crime to us so we can help them and build upon the relationship between the haulage industry and the police," he adds.