Operation Jemlock makes its 4000th arrest

18th November 2020

A force-wide operation created to combat serious violence and knife crime in West Yorkshire has reached another major milestone.

Over 4,000 arrests have now been made by officers working on Operation Jemlock and more than 500 weapons have been seized, reducing the potential for serious harm.

In the 18 months from April 2019, when Operation Jemlock started, to October 2020 compared with the 18 month period prior to that (October 2017 – April 2019) the following reductions have been achieved;

• All Knife crime down 13.4%
• Overall Robbery down 20.8%
• Robbery involving a sharp implement down 28.2%

Superintendent Damon Solley is the Force Lead for Violent Crime Reduction and Operation Jemlock, he said:

“Since Operation Jemlock started we have made some significant progress in making arrests and seizing weapons.

“There has been a real commitment by officers working on the operation to achieve such excellent results.

“These reductions in crimes of violence are outstanding and the result of the hard work of those officers working on the operation.

“For me the single most important outcome is the reduction in the numbers of victims.

“When you compare the 18 months of Operation Jemlock with the same period prior to that, we have seen over 500 fewer victims of knife crime and over 1000 fewer victims of robbery.

“Regrettably, we still see violence happening on our streets but I am determined to maintain the focus and work with our Violence Reduction Unit, supporting projects to steer people away from violence”.

Operation Jemlock was launched in April 2019 after Chief Constable John Robins met with the Home Secretary. West Yorkshire was given additional funding for work to tackle knife crime and reduce violence in our communities.

Mark Burns-Williamson, West Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), said:

"These are impressive crime reduction results and I want to thank everyone involved in this operation from the ground up, they have undoubtedly made a significant difference to the overall safety of our communities.

“Operation Jemlock is working alongside the West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), which I officially launched earlier this year, and together they are helping to keep our communities safe and feeling safe. The VRU is dedicated to working in partnership towards a better understanding and targeting of the root causes of violent crime in helping to prevent further harm.”

“Early intervention and prevention work is vital; people need to understand that carrying a knife or weapon can lead to serious, often devastating consequences and destroy lives, collectively we will do all we can to prevent people from making such harmful decisions in the first place through joint activity and initiatives throughout West Yorkshire.”