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31 arrests have been made in the first six months of South Yorkshire Police’s new “hotspot” policing initiative operating in areas impacted by violent crime.

Under the new initiative, South Yorkshire Police officer patrols have made 28 arrests for a range of crimes including possession of a firearm, wounding, sexual offences and robbery. The additional 7,768 hours of patrols also led to 78 stop searches and 37 further offences reports made, including for traffic offences, thefts and drug possession.

Inspector Joel Turner said: “We know that providing a high-visibility presence in localities acts as a deterrent to those who may be planning to commit a crime, but this is also about building a rapport with communities that are suffering with ongoing serious violence.

"Our officers have built some great relationships within communities, as people are seeing the same officers almost daily, and they are regularly approached by members of the public who are pleased to hear there will be additional patrols in their area.”

Officers taking part in a new intensive patrol initiative have made 31 arrests across violent crime 'hotspots' in six months.

South Yorkshire Police received £1million as one of 20 forces with a Violence Reduction Unit across the country to be award a share of £30m from the Home Office’s ‘Grip’ Programme. The programme requires police forces to run intensive, high-visibility foot patrols in specific areas where data shows a risk of serious violence.

The Home Office has said the programme works, as the short and sharp patrols mean police can reduce crime and the public’s demand for policing services.

Insp Turner said: “These patrols are based on very specific research and data analysis. This has identified a number of hotspot areas where serious violence is endemic. We patrol these specific areas day-in day-out, bolstering day-to-day policing activity, delivered by our neighbourhood and specialist policing teams from across the force, gathering intelligence and as the results show, delivering enforcement activity against those intent on committing crime.”

During the six-month period this initiative has been in place, South Yorkshire Police officers have been delivering high-visibility “hotspot” patrols for short periods of time within specific areas. The £1m boost from the Home Office will go to other problem-solving initiatives as well.

South Yorkshire Police: 31 arrests in violent crime 'hotspots' from new intense patrol tactic