Crime in Thurrock has been halved following a police operation to hunt down those responsible for the borough's high car crime and burglary figures.

Operation Rhodes, which started on February 1 and was to be concluded today, has cut incidents in Thurrock by 50 per cent, and by over 70 per cent in Tilbury and Corringham.

The operation, involving officers from Tilbury police along with CID and road policing units, was drawn up in response to figures showing there were 300 vehicles stolen in the borough in November, December and January.

About half of those were dumped in Tilbury, and officers set about identifying likely suspects, drawing up a list of about 100.

As well as conducting stop checks on vehicles travelling into Tilbury on the main three roads, covert police units have been patrolling the area to identify suspects, along with marked police vehicles to disperse potential offenders to areas where they could be managed better.

By yesterday, 56 people had been arrested as a result of Operation Rhodes for offences ranging from burglary and possession of drugs to driving without licence or insurance or theft of vehicles.

Sgt Graham Paisley, who has led Operation Rhodes throughout, said it had been "absolutely superb".

Sgt Paisley said the operation was only the first stage of a long-term strategy to reduce crime in Thurrock.

He said: "Other operations will start as soon as this is finished. They will focus more on work in the community to address problems which may get people into crime to start with."

Thurrock MP Andrew Mackinlay congratulated the officers on their work and said the results were "most encouraging."

Published Thursday, February 21, 2002