You can expect to see more police out and about from now, through to the New Year as part of the force's annual festive campaign. Operation Shepherd aims to prevent crime and identify those that do commit offences. We've been at the Plaza Community Cinema in Crosby to find out more.
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00:00 Merseyside Police have launched Operation Shepherd, its annual campaign to reduce crime
00:06 and keep communities safe during the festive period.
00:10 The Plaza Community Cinema in Crosby premiered the crime prevention messages.
00:14 We've got extra patrols around those high footfall areas like the Christmas market,
00:18 our night time economy is key, so that's where we're focusing our patrols.
00:24 Wellstown patrol officers will be speaking to residents and business owners to offer
00:29 crime prevention advice and tips on how people can keep themselves, their property and premises
00:35 safe.
00:36 Committing a burglary may take an offender a couple of minutes if that, but the lasting
00:40 effect it has on a victim can be substantial.
00:43 A burglar can maybe steal a bracelet or some jewellery or etc which they might sell on
00:49 for a few pounds, but the actual value that has with the victim is sentimental value.
00:55 Even when we have mobile phones being stolen, there's pictures on there of loved ones that
00:59 may no longer be here, so the lasting effect it has on victims is immense.
01:04 You can expect to see more officers out and about from now through until the new year.
01:10 This will include uniformed and plainclothes officers, supported by specialist teams including
01:15 the dog and mounted section.
01:18 So this year for the festive period we're focusing on drink and drug driving from a
01:21 roads policing point of view, but it's also Merseyside wide.
01:24 It's called Operation Limit, it's a national campaign and we'll be using loads of different
01:27 tactics to try and target them.
01:29 I mean last year for the six week period when we encapsulated the World Cup we caught I
01:33 think it was 536 drink and drug drivers and this year for the first week and four days
01:38 we're already projected to be above that limit so we could be catching in excess of 600 people
01:42 which is scary but it's a result of hopefully all the effort and resourcing that we're putting
01:46 in.
01:47 We want everyone to enjoy the festive period, of course we do, but just do it safely so
01:50 it's all about time.
01:52 If you've got drink or drugs in your system then only time will allow them to go away
01:56 and we find that a lot of people are getting caught out by not leaving enough time, particularly
02:00 for drug driving.
02:02 People need to understand that no matter what you eat, no matter how many strong coffees
02:04 you have, the limit will not go down unless it's just left with time.
02:07 So if you are going out and having a good time then please do, please enjoy it but plan
02:11 what you're doing the next day.
02:12 If you're going to be driving early the next morning you can't be drinking until late and
02:15 getting heavily intoxicated.
02:17 And the other important thing to understand is even if you're not over the limit we can
02:20 still prosecute you if you're deemed to be unfit so you've got to be aware of that.
02:23 You might actually be under the limit but you might still be unfit to drive.
02:26 A number of teams will be working together to prevent crime and identify those that commit
02:31 offences.
02:32 We know that the vast majority of people within Merseyside are good people and they just want
02:37 a good time over this festive period.
02:40 It's the small minority that we're targeting so yes if our officers are out there then
02:45 please go and say hello, they are working hard and it means a lot to them when you do
02:50 that so yes please just go and approach them, don't be alarmed, they're there to keep you
02:55 safe.
02:56 The force says they'll also continue to support and protect the most vulnerable members of
03:01 our communities.