Drop in crime in Rother Valley down to Covid and 'targeted interventions'

South Yorkshire Police recorded 416 offences between October and December 2019, which had dropped to 240 by December 2020 – lower than the force’s average.

A report to South Yorkshire’s police and crime commissioner, Dr Alan Billings, put the reduction down to Covid-19 and “targeted interventions”.

The report adds that the CID played a part in reducing the number of crimes committed, including, identifying hotspots, days of action to arrest prolific suspects, intelligence gathering and cross-departmental working.

“Several initiatives have supported this drive including Operation Shield; using Smart Water technology to target harden locations, crime prevention through community groups and social media and targeted activity through covert and overt patrols, intelligence gathering and disruption,” adds the report.

Commercial burglaries dropped by 54 per cent, robberies by 26 per cent and theft of or from motor vehicles by 22 per cent.

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