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Operation Wolverine targets drivers without insurance
11:07am Sunday 20th January 2008
Comments (3)MORE than 1,000 cars have been seized in Bury over the last two years by police targeting unlicensed and uninsured drivers.
The seizures form part of Greater Manchester Police's Operation Wolverine, which has claimed 30,000 vehicles over the same period, including a convertible Audi A4 and an Audi Quattro worth around £45,000.
About half of the vehicles have been released back to their owners, but the remainder were crushed, sold at auction or returned to finance companies because the drivers failed to produce valid insurance or proof of ownership.
The operation, which has resulted in a total of 1,115 vehicles being taken off the streets in Bury, has been so successful that police have been returning vehicles to finance companies to the value of around £200,000 a month.
Sergeant Mark Beales from the Traffic Network Section and head of Operation Wolverine said: "The main focus of this operation has been to disrupt criminals in Greater Manchester, as many of them use uninsured vehicles to commit crimes in the area.
"We receive a lot of support from the public for this work as we are cracking down on drivers who think they can get away with paying nothing, while law-abiding citizens are left to foot the bill.
"The two Audis we seized also disprove the common misconception that it's only older cars that are driven without insurance. Many people automatically assume that high value vehicles have insurance when this may not always be the case."
The 15,000 vehicles that were returned to their owners were only done so after insurance, licence, road tax and proof of ownership details were verified and once penalties including storage charges had been paid.
Operation Wolverine runs in addition to regular Automatic Number Plate Recognition checks for insurance and road tax dodgers, while Operation Cheetah handles camera evidence of speed and traffic light offences.
Sgt Beales added: "We are committed to driving criminals off the road and will continue our work to make the roads of Greater Manchester safer by targeting uninsured and unlicensed drivers."
Anyone wishing to give information on uninsured drivers can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 or Greater Manchester Police on (0161) 872 5050.
Your Say YourBury Times
Trader X, manchester says...
11:19am Tue 21 Oct 08
I tried to clarify the type of cover I have, but under operations Wolverine the vehicle was going to be seized.
A simple producer of documents would have been suffice in such circumstances. Regardless of the PNC checking out correctly as registered and insured to myself the officer continued to come down on us with force and have my vehicle seized.
Down side.....
Costs £150.00 for removal
£20 per day in impound
Loss of earnings for getting the car back.
A Complete over reaction and inconvenience.
I am very disappointed with the conduct of the officer and feel I was treated unfairly by the police.
damonknight, wigan says...
6:12pm Sat 21 Feb 09
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mwardhebburn, Wigan says...
10:50am Thu 16 Oct 08
My son reported his van stolen on Thursday of last week. They found it 12 hours later. My son is fully insured, MoT'd and taxed and holds a full valid license. The police have not released his vehicle, despite his tools for his trade being in the vehicle - one week on from the theft. Under operation 'Wolverine' my son's car is impounded and because their ''officers'' were not on duty it couldn't be released and my son is being charged £150.00 for towing - when he could have easily picked it up himself and £12.00 per day for the impounding. Abuse of rights and civil liberties. The police have taken untold liberties in this situation. I'm disgusted by their actions.
My car was stolen 18 months ago. It was three weeks old. There wasn't even a search for it, there couldn't have been as we cancelled the insurance and everything to do with the car. 18 months later - car still has not returned. No doubt it won't be and there is probably no proactivity in trying to find it.