SOUTH Yorkshire Police has vowed to clamp down on serious crime following a spate of gun crime – including in Barnsley.
The force’s armed crime team launched in Sheffield in 2020, but has been subsequently rolled out to the rest of the county to ensure gun crime is targeted.
Over recent weeks, the numbers of firearms discharges being reported have increased, and South Yorkshire Police is taking a coordinated approach to find those responsible and bring them to justice – disrupting the activities of organised crime groups.
The latest incident in Barnsley occurred just last month after shots were fired at a property on Willman Road in Lundwood.
It’s believed the suspects fled the scene – no-one was injured during the incident.
In March, a man was arrested on suspicion of arrested murder following a firearm discharge on Washington Road in Goldthorpe.
A man is believed to have entered a property and shot a man in his 20s – he received minor injuries as a result.
The gun was located and seized at the scene by officers.
Assistant Chief Constable Dave Hartley said: “Recently you may have seen more information on our channels about firearms discharges and how South Yorkshire Police is tackling them within each district of South Yorkshire.
“This is purposeful.
“We are not looking to raise fear of crime within our communities, what we want to do is ensure you know what is actually happening in your area and to encourage you to work with us to tackle it.
“We are clearly seeing far too much of this type of criminality and it will not, and cannot be tolerated.
“While we will react swiftly to safeguard people at risk, and investigate these incidents, often what we lack to bring the offenders to justice is information – and we believe the community may hold it.
“There is no doubt we will tackle this issue, and with every discharge we see, we will seek to flood the area with specialist officers, combing every inch of the crime scenes and working relentlessly to find those responsible.”
Officers are asking for residents to let them know when they see suspicious activity or serious crime.
“What we don’t want to see is innocent people being hurt, and we need to get to those involved before further discharges happen,” he added.
“If you know something, have any information no matter how trivial you think it may be, please get in touch.
“If you don’t feel comfortable talking directly to the police, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously – we will get that information and be able to act on it.
“We are committed to tackling this and with your help, we will make sure that those involved in armed criminality spend many years in custody to reflect on their mistakes.”
