Operation Scorpion is a well-established programme of regionally co-ordinated and focused drugs activity, intended to make the south west a hostile environment for those who deal drugs and engage in anti-social drug taking activity.
Operation Scorpion 7 (OS7) is taking place in our communities in the near future and will run concurrently with the national County Lines Intensification Week (CLIW) and Clear Hold Build phase 1.
Operation Scorpion harnesses the collective strength of south west policing to better coordinate disruptive activity, and target-harden the area to protect against criminals engaging in drug activity. It achieves this by drawing on the region’s collaborative capabilities and adopts an intelligence-led approach in the disruption of organised crime and drug-related criminality.
Six intensification weeks have been undertaken since the inception of this focused activity, all yielding successful outcomes across the region. OS7 will be led by Dorset Police/OPCC and will be delivered across the south west Regional police forces of Wiltshire, Avon and Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, Dorset and Gloucestershire supported by the SWROCU.
Throughout OS7 we will be working closely with various partners including, OPCC Commissioned partners, NHS, local authorities, victims’ services and more.
Key Objectives:
- To raise awareness of the violence that can often surround drug abuse, such as knife crime and relate it to the OPCC’s Serious Violence Duty work.
- To focus on the ‘Ring of Steel’ concept using our resources and partners to disrupt travel into the region for the purpose of supplying drugs.
- To establish the South West region as a psychologically hostile environment for those who engage in illegal drug activity (Pursue / Enforcement / Disruption)
- To highlight the importance of intelligence and increase reporting of offending in hotspot areas via anonymous Crimestoppers channel to help us tackle street dealing in communities
- To disrupt those who cause harm in communities through visible drug dealing and the associated crime, linked to Clear Hold Build.
- To highlight to the public the links between drug dealing in the community and ASB/Violence/Theft/Shoplifting etc.
- To enhance community confidence and public safety and demonstrate our commitment to working together to protect our communities against criminals engaging in drug activity.
- To increasing confidence in policing by showing that the Force ‘act upon’ the intelligence gathered as part of ‘business as usual’ and via the OS7 campaign and to reflect an overarching ‘You Said We Did’ approach.
Operational Overview
Over a week of intensified action Wiltshire Police will be carrying out activity focusing on knife crime, hotspot tasks for violent areas, cuckooing, transport routes and ANPR. This will include executing warrants and cuckooing visits, patrols in hotspot areas, community engagement stands, talks in schools, weapon sweeps and knife arches.
Every planned operational activity will be counted as a disruption. By definition, a disruption must have an impact on serious & organised crime, involve some form of intervention, eg arrest, sentencing, safeguarding, ancillary order, etc or be for a mapped or non-mapped OCG, individual or vulnerability.
Each disruption will be categorised under one of the following 4Ps headings.
- Pursue – targeted action against the highest harm serious and organised criminals
- Protect – strengthen the protection of individuals or businesses impacted by serious and organised crime through effective safeguarding, etc
- Prepare – choreographing activities with the business community, councils, charities, etc to reduce the impact of serious and organised crime upon communities
- Prevent – stop individuals becoming involved in serious & organised crime.
Engagement and publicity with communities
You will begin to see both Wiltshire Police and the OPCC start to proactively communicate across their digital channels – or in communities across Swindon and Wiltshire – around positive activity and results connected with this intensification work.
Results, once they are known, across the south west will also be proactively communicated too.
OPCC Operation Scorpion Stakeholder Briefing