Twenty Warwickshire Police Student Officers have taken part in a further high visibility roads policing operation in the Abbey Street area of Nuneaton aimed at increasing public confidence and preventing and reducing crime as well as improving safety on the county’s roads.

The operation on Thursday 7 November 2019 used Automatic Number Plate Recognition equipment to support the student officers and experienced police officers were used to intercept members of the public and bring them in to a safe area for the student officers to speak to them and deal with any potential offences.

During the operation 37 vehicles were brought in to the check site. As a result of checks and examinations 7 vehicles were seized for tax and insurance offences, a further 11 vehicles had offences that they were reported for or issued notices to rectify the fault. This included a van that was almost a tonne overweight, another with no handbrake and Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency officers issued an immediate prohibition to prevent it being driven.

Two drivers were stopped on suspicion of using their mobile phone whilst driving. When stopped drivers face a fixed penalty notice where 6 points are added to their licence and a £200 fine.

One male was arrested due to being wanted for offences in another force area that he had failed to appear in court for.

Three vehicles were also prohibited from being driven any further due to the dangerous condition they were in or being significantly overweight.

The operation provided the student officers with an opportunity to increase their skills and experience in dealing with road related incidents, whilst being accompanied by trainers and experienced officers to ensure a proper process and give a safe learning environment.

PC 120 Pete Hayes, who coordinated the operation said “This is an excellent opportunity for the student officers to put the theory into practice. This is the second time we have been in Nuneaton in the last few weeks and further operations are planned in our other towns around the county to train the record numbers of student officers we are currently recruiting.

“These operations are always primarily about taking uninsured, untaxed or otherwise dangerous vehicles off the road whilst also making many other drivers aware of minor faults on their vehicles. The student officers gain a great deal from being able to put their theory into practice whilst giving some high visibility policing to the town at the same time.”

“My thanks goes out to our partner agency DVSA (Driver Vehicle Standards Agency) who gave their time today to share their expertise with the new officers showing them some of the common faults to look out for.”

Issued: 10.25am, Friday 8 November 2019, HN, Corporate Communications