Leeds police blitz sees 22 arrested in a day

They were arrested on suspicion of a total of 74 offences

Leeds police arrested 22 people wanted criminal offences in a day as part of a concerted operation.

West Yorkshire Police's operation coincided with the first Student Officer Intensification Week and was used as an opportunity for student officers to gain vital skills for upcoming assessments. Leeds officers were also supported by members of the Special Constabulary, the Mounted Section and a Live Facial Recognition van in the city centre.

Over the course of the operation, 22 people were arrested on suspicion of a total of 74 offences, including sexual offences, domestic abuse offences, harassment, stalking, robbery, burglary, theft from shop and theft of motor vehicle. There were numerous stop searches conducted with two community resolutions issued for drug possession offences and four people with criminal orders stopped and checked.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Farrell, of Leeds District, said: “We saw some great results when we ran a similar operation in July and this time we had around 20 student officers joining us in conducting arrest enquiries for those wanted for some of the most serious offences.

“This operation demonstrates the benefit that our student officers bring during their training with a number of them making arrests which have supported colleagues in progressing their investigations and hopefully securing justice for victims.

“We will continue running these operations, bringing officers and staff from departments across the district together away from routine demand to conduct proactive enquiries to locate people suspected of causing significant harm in our communities.”