Good news for Harrogate communities... bad news for criminal

Good news for Harrogate communities... bad news for criminal

Twenty two people have been arrested during a major 24-hour operation to keep people across the Harrogate district safe.

High-visibility town-centre patrols and drop-in sessions where the public can talk to officers have taken place in Harrogate, where teams have also been delivering crime prevention work with shops.

Extensive residential and rural patrols have taken place across the wider district, including Ripon, rural areas and surrounding villages.

Op Tornado took place yesterday (Wednesday 23 April 2025). It focuses on crimes we deal with every day. But it does so by co-ordinating a high number of police resources in a specific area of North Yorkshire, to hit issues that matter to communities head-on.

Results from yesterday’s operation in the Harrogate area include:

Nine people arrested for drug offences after three warrants were executed at addresses across Harrogate and further addresses were visited. They were taken into custody on suspicion of offences including possession with intent to supply drugs and conspiring to supply class A and B drugs. Drugs were seized during searches of the addresses.

An assortment of weapons, including air pistols and knives, were seized along with drugs at a property in Harrogate, with two arrested on suspicion of weapons offences as well as drug offences.

Three people were arrested over immigration offences during visits to businesses in Harrogate town centre by our exploitation team.

A stolen motorbike was seized in Ripon, where North Yorkshire Police has focused resources to tackle illegal motorbike and e-bike use following feedback from residents.

Five wanted people were located and arrested by teams patrolling key areas by car.

A man was arrested on suspicion of retail theft and suspected stolen items were recovered from an address as part of our push on retail crime, which also included visits to town centre businesses by retail crime prevention teams.

Officers from across the ranks, including the Deputy Chief Constable, have been on the beat in Harrogate town centre to speak to residents and visitors, with dozens of people stopping off at our drop-in session on Oxford Street for a chat.

In more remote areas, our Rural Task Force has been on patrol and carrying out crime prevention visits to farms and other rural businesses.

In Northallerton, four men were arrested by teams after we received reports of a commercial burglary in progress at an industrial site.

Our off-road motorbike team has been patrolling large parts of the district, on the lookout for illegal motorcycle use, stolen vehicles and unlawful riding.

And roads policing teams have been keeping motorists safe during their patrols, while dealing with motoring offences and vehicle crime.

Superintendent Teresa Lam, Commander for Harrogate district, said: “Operation Tornado has again made a massive impact in just 24 hours, with a significant number of people arrested for serious offences.

“It’s also been great talking to residents and business owners while we’ve been out and about. Conversations like these, alongside the crime prevention initiatives that we’ve been delivering, really help us stand side-by-side with communities.

“We want this combination of no-nonsense crime enforcement and community engagement to reassure people that we’re here for them, as we make what’s already a very safe part of the country even safer.”

During yesterday’s deployments, the force worked closely with British Transport Police, North Yorkshire Council and other organisations to make the arrests and share crime-prevention advice.

It involved police officers of all ranks and roles including the Chief Constable, PCSOs, Special Constables, Police Cadettes and police staff.

Operation Tornado moves around North Yorkshire, with large-scale deployments in different districts on different dates.

It was launched in April 2024 by Chief Constable Tim Forber to proactively target criminals, disrupt crime and respond to issues raised by communities across the county.

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Will Smith
(North Yorkshire Police, Corporate Communications Manager, North Yorkshire)