PCC welcomes increase in Operation Hotspot patrols and town centre crime fighting

An increase in high visibility police patrols and crime fighting in town centres has been welcomed by Hertfordshire Police & Crime Commissioner Jonathan Ash-Edwards.

Operation Hotspot is an initiative Mr Ash-Edwards launched last year to fund additional patrols in town centres and crime hotspots. In its first year, over 26,000 hours of additional patrols were carried out resulting in a 14.5% decrease in crime and anti-social behaviour.

At his Accountability & Performance Meeting on 16^th October, Mr Ash-Edwards asked Chief Constable Andy Prophet for an update on progress with Operation Hotspot in the new financial year.

Across all measures – patrol hours, arrests, stop and searches, use of ASB powers and weapons seizures – police activity has increased compared to the same period last year.

In the first six months of 2025/26, Operation Hotspot has delivered:

• More patrols – over 16,000 hours of additional police foot patrols in town centres, on top of routine patrols by Neighbourhood Policing Teams.
• More arrests – 225 arrests were made during hotspot patrols.
• More searches – 393 stop searches were carried out where police officers had reasonable grounds to do so.
• More challenge to anti-social behaviour – 979 uses of anti-social behaviour powers, such as directing people to leave an area or issuing Community Protection Warnings.
• More knives seized – 46 knives have been taken off the streets.

The Chief Constable highlighted a number of areas where crime and violence has been reduced in hotspot areas in the last six months:

• Personal robbery down – in Hertfordshire’s hotspots, the number of personal robbery offences has fallen by 50% year-on-year.
• Violence crime down – significant year-on-year falls in violent crime has been seen in a number of hotspots, with serious violence down by 20% in St Albans city centre, 15% in Hemel Hempstead town centre, 22% in East Hertfordshire’s town centres, 12% in Borehamwood town centre and 16% in Waltham Cross’s hotspot.

Jonathan Ash-Edwards, Hertfordshire Police & Crime Commissioner, said:

“The first year of Operation Hotspot was a huge success, with over 26,000 hours of additional police patrols leading to a 14.5% reduction in crime and anti-social behaviour in town centre hotspots.

“I am delighted to see that even more progress has been made in the first six months of this financial year with the number of patrols, arrests, searches and weapons seizures all up on the same period last year.

“Operation Hotspot is a key priority in my Police & Crime Plan – delivering on the public’s desire to see more police patrols, but importantly it is also helping to cut crime and anti-social behaviour, making Hertfordshire’s town centres safer for everyone.

“I would like to thank all of the police officers and PCSOs who are working hard to carry out the additional patrols on top of their day to day work to solve crime, keep people safe and build trust and confidence in local communities”.

For more information please contact:

Rachel Stone, Head of Communications & Engagement, Hertfordshire PCC at [email protected]