Residents have been very supportive of police’s efforts to curb the recent wave of criminal damage across High Wycombe, according to officers.

Inspector Scott Messenger, who heads up the team at Marlow Police Station, says the whole force has pulled together to throw resources after at least 274 cars were damaged over the last five weeks.

Officers from Marlow have helped man the operation centring around Castlefield, as well as police drafted in from beyond Buckinghamshire, with horses and officers from the mounted division travelling from Milton Keynes.

As well as praising fellow officers for their determination, Insp. Messenger said he heard positive comments from residents at last week’s Neighbourhood Watch AGM about the police’s response.

He said: “It’s difficult to manage and the good thing about being a large force is we can rely on the mutual aid from local policing areas within the force which allows us to keep up our usual job.

“And it’s been my job to make sure I’ve got the staff to keep it business as usual.

“It has been massively labour intensive for the whole police area. 

“There were some very frustrated people [at the AGM], but on the whole the feedback was very positive. They said we know what you’re doing, we’ve seen the police presence.

“What the community are telling us is we’ve got the right people for it but it’s still been going on.”

Supt Ed Mclean this week spoke of the extra resources thrown at the problem, with as many as ten extra officers on duty each night.

Supt Ed McLean said: "For the last five weeks it's been very much our primary focus.

"We were given significant resources and provided with a dedicated senior investigating officer. We had a large investigation team in excess of ten officers, and we continue to have that as our priority.

"Our focus has been on the estates where it's occurred and tried to keep local officers there. I want the local officers to engage with the public."

This week four people were charged in connection with the vandalism, while another five people who have been arrested are on police bail.

Supt McLean said: "It seems to have stopped but we continue dealing with it. All my neighbourhood officers are allocated to it."

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