Two men have been arrested for drugs possession during part of ongoing police operation to disrupt crime in Merseyside’s busiest public places.



The men were stopped in a car on Dale Street, Liverpool yesterday by officers involved in Operation Exemplar, a new, highly-visible tactic used to tackle all forms of criminality, including terrorism, whilst engaging with the public to encourage them to report suspicious activity.

The 32-year-old driver and his 30-year-old passenger were arrested after the black Audi coupe they were in attracted the attention of officers directing vehicles through a filter they had set up.

After smelling cannabis inside the car officers used a police sniffer dog to search the car and the dog found a bag of white powder in passenger-side footwell.

Both men were subsequently arrested on suspicion of possession of a Class A drug, believed to be cocaine, and the driver was also arrested for driving whilst uninsured. They have been taken into custody where they will be interviewed.

Operation Exemplar officers were also deployed elsewhere in Liverpool city centre today including Lime Street. Church Street, Paradise Street and Lord Street where they stopped to speak to shoppers and office workers.

Flyers explaining more about the operation and how the public can work with the police to keep the city region safe by reporting suspicious activity to 101 were given out.

Police horses, police dogs, roads policing officers and plain clothes detectives were also used to provide both a highly-visible and a covert presence on the streets. CCTV and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras were amongst the technology used.

Inspector Maria Hoogendyk who led Monday's operation said: “These tactics are tried and tested by forces up and down the country as a way of preventing crime and protecting the public. We launched it this summer with great success and today it has proved to be not only a great way at catching criminals but also getting out and about and speaking to the public about how they can help us.

“Running high profile roadside operations on the city’s arterial routes is a great way at sending out a message to travelling criminals, whilst patrolling on horses through the city gives reassurance to shoppers, workers and tourists. Its also a great ice-breaker and we had lots of people coming up to us in Liverpool One and surrounding streets.

“Where we deploy to is designed to be unpredictable and show that we can turn up in a location anytime so it sends a strong message to criminals intent on causing harm that they should think again or risk being caught.

“The public have a big part to play in helping us gather the information we need to tackle all types of crime, from pickpocketing to terrorism and Operation Exemplar is a vital way of getting that message across.”

Well done excellent work by Police.

Can I cordially direct them towards Kew Park & Ride on Foul Lane as the Nation's favourite mobile crime wave has just taken up residence. I know this because above the office is flying a flag showing a half finished drive over some stolen power tools.

I wish they had been stopping traffic yesterday afternoon. I was travelling behind a black Seat with clouds of weed wafting out of the open windows!

Strange sightings of unidentified tradesman's vehicle - generic name, no phone number, no address - seen in the area. Also weird rusty white van with rough sounding engine making its way along Chapel Street near the bike stands, several strangers seen on the streets taking an interest in the architecture of local houses. Southport appears to have many attractions this time of the year.

Originally Posted by roving-eye

Two men have been arrested for drugs possession during part of ongoing police operation to disrupt crime in Merseyside’s busiest public places.



The men were stopped in a car on Dale Street, Liverpool yesterday by officers involved in Operation Exemplar, a new, highly-visible tactic used to tackle all forms of criminality, including terrorism, whilst engaging with the public to encourage them to report suspicious activity.

The 32-year-old driver and his 30-year-old passenger were arrested after the black Audi coupe they were in attracted the attention of officers directing vehicles through a filter they had set up.

After smelling cannabis inside the car officers used a police sniffer dog to search the car and the dog found a bag of white powder in passenger-side footwell.

Both men were subsequently arrested on suspicion of possession of a Class A drug, believed to be cocaine, and the driver was also arrested for driving whilst uninsured. They have been taken into custody where they will be interviewed.

Operation Exemplar officers were also deployed elsewhere in Liverpool city centre today including Lime Street. Church Street, Paradise Street and Lord Street where they stopped to speak to shoppers and office workers.

Flyers explaining more about the operation and how the public can work with the police to keep the city region safe by reporting suspicious activity to 101 were given out.

Police horses, police dogs, roads policing officers and plain clothes detectives were also used to provide both a highly-visible and a covert presence on the streets. CCTV and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras were amongst the technology used.

Inspector Maria Hoogendyk who led Monday's operation said: “These tactics are tried and tested by forces up and down the country as a way of preventing crime and protecting the public. We launched it this summer with great success and today it has proved to be not only a great way at catching criminals but also getting out and about and speaking to the public about how they can help us.

“Running high profile roadside operations on the city’s arterial routes is a great way at sending out a message to travelling criminals, whilst patrolling on horses through the city gives reassurance to shoppers, workers and tourists. Its also a great ice-breaker and we had lots of people coming up to us in Liverpool One and surrounding streets.

“Where we deploy to is designed to be unpredictable and show that we can turn up in a location anytime so it sends a strong message to criminals intent on causing harm that they should think again or risk being caught.

“The public have a big part to play in helping us gather the information we need to tackle all types of crime, from pickpocketing to terrorism and Operation Exemplar is a vital way of getting that message across.”

Typical emergency text sent to all associates of known criminals:
"Pigs on such and such street - AVOID"