POLICE are hailing an operation to cut the rise in metal thefts a success, after the number of incidents in the county fell.
During the three months of Operation Calanthia, which was set up in response to a sharp rise in the theft of metal including copper wire and lead from church roofs, there have been around a quarter of incidents reported.
Police blame the high value of scrap metal for the rise in thefts, which have dogged many areas around Ashbourne, and in September - before the Operation Calanthia began, there were 277 crimes across the county and this has fallen to just 60 so far for January.
In the B Division, which includes the Ashbourne area, 30 incidents were reported in September but this gradually fell to 12 in December and so far in January there have been 10 thefts bringing the area’s total to 99.
Superintendent Debbie Mathews, of the Derbyshire Police Operational Support department, said: “Theft of scrap metal has been an increasing issue for the force and Operation Calanthia was designed to bring the number of thefts down, increase awareness among scrap merchants and help to target harden vulnerable buildings, such as churches and businesses.
“We wanted to make scrap harder to steal and make it difficult for thieves to sell metal on. Although the operation has now come to an end, we will continue to do everything we can to stamp out metal thefts in Derbyshire.
“Metal may well be in demand but stealing is a crime and in many cases, offenders cause extreme damage to buildings and put themselves and others in danger by taking metal from roofs, sub stations and railway lines.” During the operation police arrested 63 people across Derbyshire on suspicion of stealing metal during the operation and scrap dealers throughout Derbyshire were visited to remind them of the legislation around the receiving and recording of metal.
