In a follow up to their crime and road safety campaign conducted in Rugby and Nuneaton in September, police and Rugby Community Safety Partnership have announced that six of the vehicles confiscated in the campaign have now been disposed of, including three vehicles that have been crushed.

Police conducted a high profile policing operation in Rugby to crack down on the criminal use of vehicles travelling in and out of Rugby. The operation, which was conducted in alliance with the Rugby Community Safety Partnership utilised high tech vehicle number plate recognition cameras around the town centre to link in with police data bases, to spot vehicles which were being used illegally – including vehicles that were not insured or being used by disqualified drivers.

Operation Spennymoor, which has been ongoing since September, utilised Warwickshire and West Mercia officers from the specialized Operations Patrol Unit to identify and stop the suspect vehicles.

The camera technology monitored a high number of uninsured vehicles travelling to and from Rugby. The policing operation was launched in response in order to identify and deal with motorists posing a risk to themselves and others. The operation was conducted in the daytime hours, over a period of two days in Rugby and included a further day in areas of Nuneaton from 30 October to 1 November.

During the entire operation over 200 vehicles were stopped and checked. A total of 14 vehicles (three vans, a motorcycle and ten cars) were seized at the roadside by police and impounded for having no insurance.

Officers reported a total of 57 motorists for a range of offences – including driving without insurance, driving without an MOT, using a mobile phone whilst driving and having no driving licence. Sixteen drivers were also dealt with for offences of excess speed.

Following up on the vehicles that were seized, eight were eventually returned to the owners following full payment of charges and proof that the vehicles had since been fully insured for the road. However, six vehicles were not returned, including two vehicles repossessed by finance houses, one vehicle was auctioned and three vehicles scrapped and crushed.

Chief Inspector Mike Slemensek, in charge of the policing operation said:

“During this operation we successfully utilised the cameras in Rugby town to identify and bring to justice a significant number of people who are routinely committing offences through the use of their vehicles. The results of this operation will hopefully serve to deter others who might be tempted to flout the law. We will continue with similar operations across the county to deny criminals the free use of our roads and to promote safety on our roads”.

Rugby Community Safety Partnership Manager Keith Newell said:

“The partnership has invested in cameras to help improve safety in the Borough. The cameras are monitored on a 24/7 basis and I am very pleased that we have worked with Warwickshire Police on this special operation – which should send out a clear message to people that there are consequences for those who break the law in their vehicles – including, as we have demonstrated today, having your vehicle taken off the road, scrapped and crushed”.

Above: Police and Crime Commissioner Ron Ball with a crushed vehicle ‘cube’ that had been transported from a metal recycling centre – where vehicles seized by police are scrapped and crushed.

Remember you can contact your local Community Safety Project Officer on 02476 483163 (Nuneaton and Bedworth and North Warwickshire), 01788 533817 (Rugby) or 01926 412261 (Stratford and Warwick Districts), or email communitysafety@warwickshire.gov.uk.