Operation Fortress – Successful Operation in North Warwickshire

Operation Fortress
Op Fortress has concluded in Kingsbury with some great results for Warwickshire & Staffordshire residents.
Op Fortress, which started on Monday 17th December, was a three phased operation targeting the most vulnerable and those with high performance and desirable vehicles within the village. Working closely with Chief Inspector Ash Farrington and his team at Tamworth Police Station (Sgt Paul Stafford and Sgt Steve Marriot) Warwickshire Police were able to pool resources and work closer together, sharing information and trends on our respective areas. The operation also saw Warwickshire Police officers work in Staffordshire and vice versa, with good results.
Both respective force areas also monitored each other’s radio channel – saving valuable moments when incidents were reported to once force, the other force would be able to assist and respond.
Phase One of Op Fortress
A combination of high visibility, covert and foot patrols were conducted where over 60 Warwickshire properties were visited and identified as being ‘at risk’ because there was a high performance or desirable vehicle parked outside. The owners of these vehicles were offered crime prevention packs and were given advice on how to secure their home and vehicle.
Phase Two
This was mainly a patrolling phase – morning, noon and night in a combination of marked and unmarked vehicles. This phase yielded some great results with a number of vehicles seized for no insurance, no tax or driver licensing related issues. A number of intelligence reports were gathered across both Warwickshire Police and Staffordshire Police and daily briefings between the two forces made sure we were continually kept in the loop. During the operation a wanted male was detained, a number of stolen vehicles were recovered by West Midlands Police and number of residents were engaged with and re assured about the sudden rise in thefts in the two villages.
Phase Three
Phase three utilised the Mobile Police Station in the village from Monday 17th – Friday 21st December, the vehicle was parked in prominent locations and local residents were spoken to and crime prevention advice was offered as well as other Crime Prevention literature was provided. Over 100 engagements were made during this phase which also provided a useful base for the patrolling officers.
The operation was complimented by a number of informative Social Media posts and the creation of some bespoke literature such as the ‘Vehicle Crime’ leaflet, which can be downloaded from the right hand side of this page.
During this operation the Street lighting was switched back on to aid officers overnight to look for potential thieves, it is expected that the lights will be switched off in the New Year after the conclusion of Op Fortress.