Operation Tornado Hits Filey and Eastfield

North Yorkshire Police were out in force in Filey and Eastfield this week.

Led by Chief Constable Tim Forber, the intensification day on Wednesday involved the Coast Command’s policing teams backed-up by additional and specialist resources from across the force, enabling a whole range of proactive police work to disrupt, deter and detect criminality, improve road safety, and positively engage with residents, retailer and businesses, and the significant tourism community.

Following an inspection and addresses by Chief Constable Forber and Coast Commander, Superintendent Rachel Wood, at Eastfield Police Station, briefings quickly commenced before the activities got underway.

Intelligence-led drug warrants were executed in both Eastfield and Filey leading to arrests and confiscation of drug-related items.

Plain clothes officers from the force’s Op Sentry team also worked with the Eastfield Neighbourhood Policing Team to target known local offenders suspected of delivering drugs.

Other local priority issues that were focused on included Op Trailblaze, the ongoing effort to tackle illegal use of 4x4 vehicles and motorbikes at Wykeham Forest. This patrol was supported by the force’s Off-Road Bike Team (Op Orbit), members of the Rural Task Force along with drone-trained officers.

In the afternoon, attention was turned to Op Bungalow in Eastfield to target the increased use of off-road bikes and e-scooters. Concerned residents regularly complain about them being ridden at speed and dangerously on footpaths and recreational areas used by the community. The Eastfield Neighbourhood Policing Team, who designed the problem-solving plan, carried out combined patrols with the Roads Policing Group and the Off-Road Bike Team.

North Yorkshire Police say that the popular holiday parks in and around Filey are "significant communities in themselves" and multiply the local population by tens of thousands every year. They say that from a policing point of view," it is vital to demonstrate a strong, visible presence at the holiday parks as with any community".

During Operation Tornado, this involved developing working relationships with holiday park staff, promoting crime prevention to residents and visitors, and explaining how to report information to the police about suspected criminal behaviour. This covered a range of issues including drug dealing and drug use, exploitation, and domestic abuse.

The force’s Roads Policing Group (RPG) teamed up with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) to carry out a road safety operation.

An inspection area was set up in the Morrison’s store car park off Cayton Low Road.

The RPG officers patrolled the nearby A64, looking out for commercial vehicles suspected of having mechanical defects and illegal or insecure loads.

Officers from Project Servator were also on hand to keep a watchful eye in and around the towns, including along the coastline at Filey.

This is a policing tactic that aims to disrupt a range of criminal activity, including terrorism, while providing a reassuring presence for the public.

Working together, teams pop up in areas such as Filey on highly visible and unpredictable deployments.They engage with the public and local businesses, reminding them to be vigilant and report any suspicious or unusual behaviour on 101 or 999 if an emergency response is required.

During the day officers say they carried out a number of actions including:

• Four warrants executed - No-one was present at one of the addresses, but an amount of drugs was located and the suspect to be dealt with later
• Three arrests for drug-related offences
• 35 vehicles stopped – one arrest, 19 Traffic Offence Reports (TORs) issued, seven vehicle seizures
• Seven suspects arrested for retail crime offences with the property returned to the shop. Of the seven arrests, four were dealt with by way of Community Resolution Disposal due to them being first-time offenders

Chief Constable Tim Forber said: 

“Operation Tornado is about North Yorkshire Police intensifying its efforts in a small locality, making sure that we show the community that we are on their side and making Filey and Eastfield a hostile place for criminals to operate.

“I sincerely thank the local community for your support, and I have nothing but praise for our officers and staff, along with the partner agencies, who worked so hard to make it another successful day.”

Superintendent Rachel Wood said: 

“We always look forward to Operation Tornado days and it is pleasing to see the positive impact it has had in Filey and Eastfield.

“Our officers and staff work around the clock to keep our communities safe and secure. It is vitally important to us that residents, business owners and visitors have confidence to report their crime and anti-social behaviour concerns, knowing that North Yorkshire Police will provide a professional and trusted service.”