Hundreds of cannabis plants seized in raid on Doncaster residential street: Police column

We were called out to the property on Gladstone Road, Hexthorpe, by the electricity board, on Tuesday October 1.

When we arrived, we discovered over 200 plants, which were taken away, and a man has now been arrested and charged with cultivating the plants.

The same day also saw a sad incident with the discovery of a body outside Doncaster police station. It was located in the gap between the perimeter blast wall and the building.

The area was sealed off while investigations were carried out, and College Road was closed briefly at around 4pm while the body was taken away.

There are no suspicious circumstances and further investigations will now be carried out by the coroner’s office. Our thoughts are with the bereaved family.

I now turn to local issues and begin with the town centre where, over the weekend, we had a number of mobile phone thefts occur in some of our town centre pubs during the evening.

Six phones were stolen on one weekend and we suspect someone came to Doncaster specifically to steal phones.

We have some limited lines of enquiry to pursue but I urge those travelling into town to keep phones secure. Don’t leave it on the table in front of you whilst you drink and ensure handbags are closed. If you do discover your phone is missing, report it to door staff and the police. We have had some instances where phones have been found but not reported lost or stolen.

Las month I highlighted the problem of commercial burglaries in the town centre area. I am pleased to report the downward trend from May 2019 continues and in September, we recorded just two attempted burglaries. This is a significant difference to the previous three months when we recorded an average of 14 actual and four attempted burglaries. This reduction is a result of a sustained increase in town centre staffing and targeting specific suspects.

Further afield, we still see burglars targeting properties with the intention of taking ignition keys to high value cars and stealing them.Often entry has been gained by overcoming poor quality door locks. To prevent, this, consider fitting snap safe lock cylinders to upvc or composite doors which are of minimum 3* standard. Exterior wooden doors should have a five lever mortice lock fitted and consider fitting a top and bottom bolt to patio or French doors. Ensure your keys are kept in a safe place and out of sight. There are crime prevention tips on our website.

However, we have made a number of arrests for burglaries relating to the Central and South areas of Doncaster. Last week, three men were detained after breaking into sheds in Hyde Park, and remanded into custody. We also arrested two men for a commercial burglary a few days ago after a tracker activation led officers to an address where the till and cash were recovered. Both were remanded into custody.

I also wanted to highlight the the increasing number of thefts of catalytic converters. This is a national issue driven by rising prices of certain precious metals. We have received a number of reports where cars have been targeted, often in public areas during the working day. Be vigilante and report anyone acting suspiciously around cars.

Last week the results were published of the latest Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services inspection, which has rated South Yorkshire Police as ‘good’ across all measures, and ‘outstanding’ in ethical and lawful behaviour.

In a separate report, HMICFRS found South Yorkshire Police to be the lead force in the country for tackling potential corruption within its ranks. Our chief constable, Stephen Watson has responded by saying: “This is the latest milestone in our ongoing upward trajectory…We are now the most improved force for the third year running. We have shifted our position from the worst performing force in the country to the upper tier of top performing forces. This is a marvellous result but we know we must improve further.”

Please do come and meet my team at any of our regular community engagement events. Details of these events are available via our website or SYP alerts.

Alternatively, you can raise any issues or questions with me via our Facebook engagement event – further details are on our website. You can also find out more about what we’re doing on Facebook at Doncaster Central NHP or our website, www.southyorks.police.uk.