More than 1000 suspected criminals have been brought into custody following three weeks of action by Merseyside Police targeting wanted individuals.

Operation Hunted has seen teams from across the force come together to reduce the numbers of outstanding offenders. Local police officers and PCSOs, detectives, Roads Policing units, specialist search teams, the Cannabis Dismantling Team, and Matrix officers have all contributed to the operation, which has resulted in a 38% reduction in the number of wanted individuals on Merseyside.

Local policing teams have taken to social media using the hashtag #OpHunted, allowing the public to engage with the operation and follow the force’s progress over the three weeks and Chief Constable Andy Cooke joined teams to make an arrest on Monday, 30 July.

Operation Hunted has resulted in arrests for crimes including burglaries, serious assaults and sexual offences and the force is continuing to appeal to the public to come forward with any information on the whereabouts of wanted individuals.

Chief Superintendent Rob Carden, the co-ordinating lead for the operation said: “The action taken over the last three weeks has resulted in 1027 wanted individuals arrested, making Operation Hunted one of the most successful operations in reducing named offenders to date.

“The hard work that has gone into #OpHunted has resulted in a 38% reduction in the number of wanted offenders on Merseyside, which we will continue to reduce going forward.

“Individuals we have pursued have been wanted for crimes ranging from robberies to assaults to the possession of weapons and everything in-between and we want to demonstrate that the force is committed to reducing crime and making sure our communities remain safe.

“I would like to thank everyone involved in #OpHunted for the incredible team work put in to deliver these outstanding results. Without the consistent effort of teams from across the force, this would not have been possible. I would also like to thank the public for continuing to give us information to help us locate these wanted individuals. Rest assured, we will continue in the pursuit of named offenders, which remains daily business for officers across the force, and we will continue to take action whenever the community tells us there are problems.

“I encourage the public to continue to contact @MerPolCC, 101 or @CrimestoppersUK with any information.”