Road Safety Week: Over 100 vehicles checked and arrests made in Kirklees

Neighbourhood policing officers from the Kirklees district were active across the Dewsbury, Batley and Spen areas as part of the 2022 Road Safety Week - with a focus on enforcement and education.

The week, which took place between Monday, November 14 and Friday, November 20, saw officers stop hundreds of cars to carry out safety checks.

Vehicles were also seized after failing road safety checks and two stolen cars were recovered, with two people later arrested on suspicion of the thefts.

Chief Inspector Rebecca Calpin of Kirklees Police, said: “Road safety week has seen officers across Kirklees join with colleagues from partner agencies as part of a huge drive to increase safety on our roads, just ahead of colder winter weather setting in.

“Officers have had a really positive reaction from local residents they’ve spoken to throughout the week with most drivers stopped in operations also acknowledging the importance of our safety checks.

“We do of course carry out road safety activity day in and day out on our roads in Kirklees but weeks like these are an excellent opportunity for us to focus resources on the issue.

“I want to thank all our partners and our colleagues at the roads policing unit for all their support.”

Batley and Spen MP Kim Leadbeater also joined officers, the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, local councillors and Kirklees licensing teams on an operation in Batley on the Friday night, with the team stopping dozens of drivers in the town centre for safety checks, whilst a number of vehicle rectification notices were given to drivers.

A taxi was taken off the road by Kirklees Taxi Licencing and a male was arrested late in the evening for possession with intent to supply drugs.

Other activities included road safety exercises at a number of schools in our area, including Gomersal Primary School and Crossley Fields Junior and Infant School, Mirfield.

Younger children were provided with ‘mini’ police uniforms to try on as part of some visits which were intended to both make pupils aware of basic road safety and for local officers to engage with them.

Officers also conducted safety patrols on roads around a number of schools to check for driving offending and poor parking which can, in itself, pose a danger to children.

Colleagues from the West Yorkshire Roads Policing Unit also patrolled across the district and assisted the Dewsbury Neighbourhood Team with work in the Dewsbury East area and took part in interactive schools’ presentations.

Chief Inspector Calpin added: “We always encourage anyone who has concerns about a particular roads related issue in their community, such as speeding or poor parking, to contact their local neighbourhood policing team.

“All reports are looked into and allow us to plan future operations.”