VOLUNTEER police officers from North Yorkshire are being sent to neighbouring counties to arrest people on the "most wanted" list.

Police in York are sending special constables to parts of West and South Yorkshire to arrest people who are wanted for committing crimes in the North Yorkshire force area.

So far they have visited addresses in Doncaster, Pontefract, Wakefield and Leeds.

Detective Chief Inspector Nick Warnes, of York CID, said: "We asked them to go and arrest people who live in those areas but have committed crime in the York and Selby district.

"They are people who have been arrested and charged but then failed to appear at court so they can be held accountable for the crime they have committed.

"We sent three teams of officers into those areas and asked them to arrest people and bring them back to York."

He said they usually asked officers from West Yorkshire Police or South Yorkshire Police to make arrests in their force areas, but they were not always able to invest a lot of resources in tracking down people wanted for crimes outside the area.

He said asking special constables - who have the same powers as normal police officers but are unpaid - to do the job also spared North Yorkshire officers so they could continue with their work locally.

The Special Constables visited nine addresses in the operation, but failed to find any of the people who they were looking for. They will be checking further addresses in the near future.

Det Chief Insp Warnes added: "In many of those cases, the people who we were looking for were no longer living there. In some cases, it's been suggested that they have left the country.

"From the inquiries we have gathered some information about where some of those people may now be living and we will be checking further addresses in the near future.

"In one case, the officers spoke to an offender who said she would hand herself in during the next few days to stop officers harassing her family."

It is all part of Operation Cracker Two, which aims to crackdown on the "most wanted" people who have committed crimes in York and Selby.

The Press told on Monday how twelve people had been arrested as part of the operation.

Det Chief Insp Warnes added: "I can promise more of this style of policing in the coming few months."


Maximum impact on crime

MAXIMUM impact - that's the effect North Yorkshire Police are hoping to have on crime as they link up with three neighbouring forces for a massive operation.

Operation Maximum Impact involves police in the county joining up with their colleagues from West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and Humberside throughout February for a month-long co-ordinated crime crackdown.

Officers have already been out and about on operations to kick off the first week, which focuses on tackling criminals "in your neighbourhood".

Detective Chief Superintendent Steve Read, of North Yorkshire Police, said: "North Yorkshire has one of the lowest rates of crime of any county in England. Yet there are a small number of people who persist in thinking they can get away with causing violence, damage and distress in our community.

"Through Operation Maximum Impact, we'll be putting the fear of crime back where it belongs, with the criminals.

"Our Safer Neighbourhood Teams are already making a difference across the county by tackling local neighbourhood priorities.

"They'll be closely involved in bringing Operation Maximum Impact to the heart of our communities in February, but also in making sure it creates a legacy of reduced crime in the weeks and months ahead."

Throughout the operation there will also be a crackdown on vehicle crime across the area, a focused road policing initiative and an operation to catch any wanted offenders.

Next week will focus on combating violent crime, including domestic violence, the following week will aim to tackle vandalism and disorder and the final week will see a crackdown on "acquisitive" crime - such as vehicle crime and theft.

It follows on from the success of a similar cross-border operation last August.

The initiative is supported by Crimestoppers, which is appealing for anyone with information about crimes to phone them in confidence on 0800 555 111.