Operation to reduce city centre violence leads to 40 arrests

FORTY people were arrested during a police operation aimed at reducing violent incidents in Derby.

The number of officers in the city centre on weekend evenings was increased dramatically by 50% during the crackdown.  And Derbyshire police say Operation Cumberland was a success, with 20% fewer calls compared to the same time last year.  The people arrested were stopped for a variety of offences, including being drunk and disorderly and causing grievous bodily harm.

Another 30 people were told to leave the city centre under anti-social behaviour order powers to move on rowdy gangs and 20 fixed penalty notices were handed out for offences including urinating.  Inspector Richard Keene, who is in charge of policing in the city centre, said: “One of the key things we hope we achieved during the operation was to intervene in issues early to nip any potential disorder in the bud.

“We would much rather take that approach as in the long run it results in a reduction in more serious offences later in the evening.  “As a result, throughout the duration of Operation Cumberland we only recorded three incidents of serious violence, which for a city the size of Derby and the number of visitors it attracts, is very positive.”

The crackdown ran on Friday and Saturday nights from the end of March until April 17. It was launched following an increase in minor assaults in the past year.

There were 667 minor violent crime incidents between April last year and March compared to 601 for the same period the previous year.

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