Shrewsbury town centre crackdown sees 30 arrests in one month

A report issued to Shrewsbury Town Council’s annual meeting on Tuesday revealed that the arrests made since the introduction of extra officers had resulted in 30 charges for a number of offences, including theft from stores, public order offences and drug dealing.

In March, West Mercia Police announced the introduction of ten new dedicated town centre policing teams across its region, with Shrewsbury, Oswestry and Telford all earmarked for extra resources.

In a statement issued earlier this year, the force said the new officers would be “visible, accessible, and focused on tackling the priorities that matter most to the communities we serve.”

The figures showed that between the introduction of the extra officers on March 21, police had also made a total of 19 so-called Public Space Protection Orders, which allow officers to tell people to leave the town centre for 48 hours in cases where they have been deemed responsible for anti-social behaviour.

A total of 41 stop searches had been carried out under the misuse of drugs act, leading to “some arrests”.

“Anti-social behaviour has always been one of the major concerns in the town and this [has been] tackled by Police in a manner of ways, some of which is evidenced in working in conjunction with Shropshire Council,” said PS Gary Lansdale.

“Shrewsbury police have also addressed this by the use of Community Protection Warnings, Community Protection Orders and Criminal Behaviour Orders.

“Children acting in an anti-social manner are usually dealt with in the first instance by the issuing of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders which are graded level 1, 2 and 3 before moving up to the issuing of Community Protection Warnings.”

Meanwhile in Shrewsbury’s rural and suburban areas, police say they have been working on priorities set by local parish councils, with an additional focus on speeding.

“In Shrewsbury there has been an additional focus on the Harlescott, Sundorne and Meole Brace areas of the town which have seen the arrests of individuals responsible for anti-social behaviour and public order offences,” added the report.

“The work to bring these offenders to justice and to tackle the ongoing issues with drug use have continued with the support of the Neighbourhood Crime Fighting Team.

“This operation saw the arrest of three further individuals and a disruption to those whose attitude and disregard for others cause a detrimental effect on our communities.”