The East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU) has been bolstered by a number of extra police officers to tackle some of the most serious and organised criminals in the region.
They form part of more than 300 officers who have been recruited to specialist organised crime units across the country in the last year, to help tackle issues such as county lines drug dealing, gun crime, exploitation and modern slavery, cyber crime and fraud.
As part of the Government Police Uplift Programme, which aims to recruit 20,000 new officers by March 2023, EMSOU and the eight other regional organised crime units (ROCUs) across England and Wales, along with specialist teams with the Metropolitan and City of London Police, are expected to grow by 725 officers between 2021 and 2023.
Between April 2021 and March 2022, 345 additional officers were recruited in total, over and above the initial 300 target.
ROCUs use a variety of specialist capabilities to gather intelligence, working closely with police forces and other law enforcement agencies to dismantle the most serious and organised crime networks and then seize the assets of the criminals involved.
Detective Chief Superintendent Nikki Mayo is the Head of EMSOU.
She said: “This investment in the Police Service’s collaborative efforts to tackle some of the country’s most serious criminals is very much welcomed. In the East Midlands it means we can build upon our specialist teams, as well as develop our capabilities in finding new and innovative ways of disrupting organised crime and protecting our communities.
“It also offers a number of exciting opportunities for officers across the region to join the EMSOU team, with further vacancies to be advertised over the coming months.”
Check out the latest vacancies at EMSOU, here.
Deputy Chief Constable Trevor Rodenhurst, National Police Chiefs Council lead for ROCUs, said: “Our ROCUs work to identify, disrupt and dismantle crime groups causing the most harm to our communities.
“Bringing 345 extra officers into our ROCUs, the Met and City of London Police in the last year shows our commitment to tackling serious and organised crime across the country.
“We will continue to increase our capacity within these specialist units in the year ahead, as we look to recruit 425 further officers into teams tackling the most serious offenders in every area across England and Wales in 2022/23.
“Serious and organised crime doesn’t recognise borders. Taking a regional approach is vital to ensure that we get a grip of those involved in serious offending like fraud, selling drugs, weapons and human trafficking, who usually cover vast networks which spread beyond our traditional police force areas.
“The impact that serious organised crime has on our communities should not be underestimated. From burglary and anti-social behaviour through to knife crime and child sexual abuse: these crimes often have their roots in organised crime, which has a real impact on innocent members of the public right across the country.
“It’s fantastic to see all these extra resources coming in to boost our fight against this threat and those involved in organised crime should be under no illusion that we are coming after them.”