Geezah
02-02-2005, 12:12 PM
Police officers from four counties have joined forces in a co-ordinated effort to tackle a spate of armed robberies across the region.
Detectives in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire have already been working together on the series of crimes, but have now set up a multi-force inquiry team based at Bury St Edmunds.
Under the umbrella of Operation Arctic, CID officers will be working side by side to help the flow of intelligence between the forces.
The team will also be expanding their investigation beyond Post Office robberies and ATM raids, to look at attacks on other stores, including ram raids.
Sixty-seven incidents that have taken place since August 2004 are currently being looked at to see how many may be linked.
Of those, 10 were in Norfolk, 22 in Suffolk, 19 in Essex and 16 in Cambridgeshire.
Only last month the manageress of a post office in Newton Flotman, near Norwich, was threatened with a gun during a robbery, while in November the post master at Botesdale post office, near Diss, was hit over the head by armed robbers.
Det Chief Insp George Barr, who is heading the team, said: "Working in the same room and holding joint briefings and meetings will assist us greatly in determining who is responsible for these offences.
"We have always worked well together across the borders but this move will ease the flow of information between us."
As part of Operation Arctic, officers will carry out high visibility patrols at target locations across the region to act as a deterrent and offer reassurance.
Police are also asking those who live near post offices or convenience stores to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity.
"It is also likely that the offenders will visit the premises in the hours, days or weeks leading up to the offence. This could simply be driving past or sitting in vehicles outside the premises," said Det Chief Insp Barr.
Link (http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/news/story.aspx?brand=EDPOnline&category=News&tBrand=edponline&tCategory=news&itemid=NOED01%20Feb%202005%2020%3A23%3A59%3A597)
Detectives in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire have already been working together on the series of crimes, but have now set up a multi-force inquiry team based at Bury St Edmunds.
Under the umbrella of Operation Arctic, CID officers will be working side by side to help the flow of intelligence between the forces.
The team will also be expanding their investigation beyond Post Office robberies and ATM raids, to look at attacks on other stores, including ram raids.
Sixty-seven incidents that have taken place since August 2004 are currently being looked at to see how many may be linked.
Of those, 10 were in Norfolk, 22 in Suffolk, 19 in Essex and 16 in Cambridgeshire.
Only last month the manageress of a post office in Newton Flotman, near Norwich, was threatened with a gun during a robbery, while in November the post master at Botesdale post office, near Diss, was hit over the head by armed robbers.
Det Chief Insp George Barr, who is heading the team, said: "Working in the same room and holding joint briefings and meetings will assist us greatly in determining who is responsible for these offences.
"We have always worked well together across the borders but this move will ease the flow of information between us."
As part of Operation Arctic, officers will carry out high visibility patrols at target locations across the region to act as a deterrent and offer reassurance.
Police are also asking those who live near post offices or convenience stores to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity.
"It is also likely that the offenders will visit the premises in the hours, days or weeks leading up to the offence. This could simply be driving past or sitting in vehicles outside the premises," said Det Chief Insp Barr.
Link (http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/news/story.aspx?brand=EDPOnline&category=News&tBrand=edponline&tCategory=news&itemid=NOED01%20Feb%202005%2020%3A23%3A59%3A597)