Police officers arrested five people ad recovered five stolen cars as part of Operation Acquire's vehicle crime day of action.
Three men between the ages of 22 and 51 were arrested on suspicion of Theft of Motor Vehicle and Theft from Motor Vehicle, and two juveniles were arrested on suspicion of Taking without Owners Consent.
One of the vehicles was recovered after a stolen vehicle collided with a Police vehicle and several other cars. Thankfully, no injuries were reported to police. Two juveniles both aged 16 were arrested on suspicion of aggravated vehicle taking and one of them further arrested for failing to appear at court. They both remain in custody whilst the investigation continues.
With another vehicle being recovered after it was suspected to have been stolen and used in other criminality.
Throughout the day officers stopped a further six vehicles and seized for being uninsured on the roads.
Inspector Tony Allt, of Oldham’s neighbourhood team, said: “Our action will not stop here, as a team we continue to pursue vehicle offenders and bring them to justice.
“Not only have we arrested five individuals, but we have also recovered five vehicles which have been seized for forensic analysis before we work to identify and reunite with owners.
“We want to highlight, the really good work that officers do on a daily basis to tackle vehicle offences in Oldham and we work proactively to disrupt vehicle offences in our communities.
“Oldham’s neighbourhood team will continue this momentum through conducting a mix of covert and high visibility patrols in hotspot areas and patrol plans are in place to successfully recover stolen vehicles.
“Neighbourhood officers are placed where you need them most in your community to prevent, tackle and solve crime and there are steps drivers can take to protect their vehicles and make it harder for opportunistic thieves.
“If you have a keyless entry car, please keep your keys in your property and well away from your parking space, consider purchasing a Faraday Pouch or steering wheel lock – which is proven to be a brilliant deterrent and if you have a vehicle which has a manufacturers’ phone app, please take the time to download this and register your vehicle on it. Should it ever be stolen, police then have an extra tool to locate it ”