THIS poster will be appearing on a wall near you as part of Bournemouth Police's latest crackdown on vehicle crime.

It will be placed in major stores and offices in a bid to remind motorists to lock and secure their vehicles to keep car thieves at bay.

The poster is the latest tool being used by Bournemouth Police as part of their ongoing Operation Wave, which aims to reduce and detect vehicle crime.

It will also be placed in custody suites and police stations to remind car thieves that officers are hot on their trail.

Last month the police set up a hotline number and urged people to name and shame those people believed to be responsible for the crime.

People calling 01202 222335 can pass on information about offenders in confidence.

Although vehicle crime in Bournemouth dropped by 9.4 per cent between April 2003 and March 2004, compared with the same period the previous year, it is still a priority.

Bournemouth's Crime Investigation Unit is ploughing resources into the operation.

An analyst has joined the Operation Wave team and is working on identifying vehicle crime hotspots and patterns of offending.

Forensic trap cars are also being used which can track and monitor stolen vehicles.

DS Mark Monaghan, who is leading the operation, said: "These posters are aimed at highlighting the fact that if you put items away and make every effort to secure your vehicle and don't make it attractive to thieves the chances are your vehicle won't be targeted.

"We are putting all our efforts into actively targeting offenders of vehicle crime and want to hear from anyone that wants to talk to us."

First published: Sept 20