Our operation targeting uninsured, illegal drivers is marking its 10th anniversary – and during that time police have seized more than 100,000 dodgy vehicles from the region’s roads.
Operation Piranha was launched in June 2012 in response to the growing number of motor trade policies being fraudulently used to cover private vehicles.
But its remit expanded and the small team now reviews every vehicle officers seize and works alongside Force CID when cars are suspected to be linked to wider organised crime and County Lines drugs supply.
Last year alone police seized 11,854 vehicles – mostly for being driven without insurance – with a total of 109,941 seized since the operation began.
Since 2012 police have crushed 2,117 vehicles which were unclaimed by owners having been seized and sold 483 vehicles at auction.
More than £1.4-million was made through those sales – and that’s money plowed back into crime prevention and community schemes.
Over the years the Op Piranha team has seized everything from Rolls Royces, Ferraris and Lamborghinis to a forklift truck and even an uninsured ice cream van.
PC Alex Tarbuck works on the team. She said: “Driving an uninsured vehicle is a criminal offence and people quite rightly expect us to enforce the law. We do this in partnership with other organisations such as the DVLA and Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB).
“Plus of course it can be costly for law-abiding motorists if they’re involved with a collision with someone who’s on the roads uninsured.
“Anyone caught driving without insurance faces being hit with between six to eight points on their licence, a £300 fixed penalty notice or substantial fine if the matter is pursued through the courts.”
To help catch uninsured drivers we use ANPR camera systems that scan 1,000s of number plates an hour to help officers identify vehicles being driven without cover.
Each number plate image is fed into a computer system which can check the details of the vehicles against various databases, including the Police National Computer (PNC) and information held by the DVLA and MIB.
Vehicles which are seized for not being insured can be crushed or sold off at auction if the owner doesn’t obtain and provide the necessary documents to police within 14 days.
The West Midlands Police & Crime Commissioner Simon Foster said: “The West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster, said: “Uninsured vehicles are the scourge of our roads and won’t be tolerated.
“The drivers of those vehicles are reckless, careless and a danger to us all.
“They force up insurance premiums for the law-abiding motorists and West Midlands Police’s efforts to tackle the problem over the last 10 years should be commended.”