A POLICE crackdown aimed at catching crooks travelling in and out of Essex has been shelved after it did nothing to cut crime.

Operation Lockdown had been running in Essex for several years. It saw officers from both the Essex and Kent forces using automated number plate recognition cameras to stop people using the Dartford Crossing between the counties.

It aimed to catch people flouting driving laws – such as not wearing seatbelts, having no insurance and tax and flouting driving hour restrictions – as well as people using red diesel illegally, carrying drugs or stolen gear and committing general crime.

The operation – which saw officers based at Moto Services in Thurrock carry out stop checks and searches – has cost thousands.

But in a report of the Essex Police Authority Performance Committee officers, it was revealed Operation Lockdown is being shelved as it has had “little impact on crime reduction”.

The report also said of those criminals stopped most had “no intention of stopping in Essex” and would have had “no impact on Essex”.

The report read: “It has to be considered that no-one knows what criminality was planned for that day and how much, if any, was deterred by the operation.”

Operation Lockdown will be replaced by Operation Mer-maid, which targets commercial drivers – such as lorry and van drivers – who flout the law.