News Beat
Operation Tornado sees day of arrests in North Yorkshire
Operation Tornado was carried out across parts of North Yorkshire on January 7 by North Yorkshire Police’s Coast Command, with a focus on Malton, Scarborough, and Whitby.
The intelligence-led day of action, led by Chief Constable Tim Forber and his chief officer team, aimed to tackle a wide spectrum of criminal and anti-social behaviour—including County Lines drug activity, rural and cross-border offences, shoplifting, and street drinking.
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Chief Constable Tim Forber said: “Today is the first Operation Tornado of 2026 and today we’re in Malton. We’ve executed a number of search warrants across the town this morning.
“We’ve also got activity by our roads policing team targeting antisocial drivers across the local area.
“You’ll also see enhanced patrols right throughout the town centre targeting retail crime and we’re also out locking up wanted offenders right throughout this part of the county.
“Thank you for your continued support. Throughout 2026, North Yorkshire Police is going to continue to be on your side, making sure that we do everything that we can to keep you safe and feeling safe in the county of North Yorkshire.”
During the operation, 14 arrests were made for offences ranging from drug offences to retail crime.
Drug warrants were executed during the morning at two addresses in Malton and at Scarborough—resulting in three arrests and the seizure of drug-related items.
Other arrests included individuals wanted in connection with burglary, breach of a restraining order, and communications offences.
Six people were arrested for suspected retail crime, with stolen property recovered and one first-time offender dealt with by Community Resolution Disposal.
Road safety was also a key focus for the day with officers from the Road Safety Team and Roads Policing Group, working alongside the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), set up a commercial vehicle checkpoint just off the A64, near Malton.
Seventeen vehicles were stopped and examined, resulting in seven Traffic Offence Reports (TORs) for issues such as defective vehicles, insecure loads, and bald tyres, and two arrests were also made for drug driving.
Neighbourhood teams conducted targeted patrols in town centres, particularly around known offenders and areas of reported anti-social behaviour.
In Scarborough, officers enforced the Public Spaces Protection Order to address street drinking and related anti-social behaviour and further up the cost in Whitby, engagement events were held at Ruswarp Livestock Market and at Co-op stores in Whitby and Staithes to share crime prevention advice and encourage sign-ups to the North Yorkshire Community Messaging service.
Rural crime also came under the spotlight, with the Rural Task Force, Roads Policing Group, and Operation Orbit off-road biking team carrying out patrols around Whitby, Malton, Pickering, and Eastfield.
These teams targeted key routes and backroads used by suspected cross-border offenders involved in farm equipment theft, vehicle crime, and poaching.
