Crimestoppers and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary urge communities to report those Most Wanted

The independent charity Crimestoppers, in partnership with Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary, has today launched a Most Wanted gallery of faces showing those who have been charged with an offence/s and have failed to appear at court.

The 28 men and women are wanted for a variety of alleged crimes, including serious assault, drug supply, serious injury driving offences and community order breaches, and all have warrants for their re-arrest, which do not expire.

As part of the launch, over the next three days Crimestoppers will be visiting towns and cities across Hampshire with digital advertising vans, displaying the names and photos of these most wanted individuals for communities to see.

Crimestoppers launched the UK's Most Wanted in 2005, and it has been highly successful, with over 5,400 arrests to date.

People are urged to visit Crimestoppers-uk.org/most-wanted and to scroll down to select the Hampshire & IoW region. Should you recognise any of the suspects and have information on their potential whereabouts, please contact Crimestoppers charity 100% anonymously on 0800 555 111 or complete a secure anonymous online form at Crimestoppers-uk.org.

Assistant Chief Constable Paul  Bartolomeo, lead for Crime, Criminal Justice and Intelligence, is appealing to members of the public to anonymously pass on any information they may have on the whereabouts of those featured, so his officers can bring them back before the criminal justice system.

Police officers, alongside Crimestoppers staff, will be engaging with the public and appealing for their help in providing vital information on their whereabouts and how they can hand themselves in, as well as general crime prevention and community safety advice.

ACC Bartolomeo said: “Everyone deserves a safe place to live, and our communities expect criminals to be dealt with robustly.

“Those in this Most Wanted campaign have already been charged by police for a variety of offences, including assault, burglary, drugs and serious driving offences. We believe they are still in our local area and that someone will know where they are or have the information we need to ensure they are re-arrested.

“We will be using all our powers and tactics to pursue them and the information and intelligence we get from this campaign is part of that.

“Our message is simple; if you see your face on here, hand yourself in. We will not give up and if you are on this list it means we’re not far behind you.”

He added: “As with every force, we are always working hard to ensure those who need to be back in custody are detained. Not only to bring some justice for the victims of their crimes but to prevent further offences. It is important that communities have confidence that we are relentlessly pursuing such individuals, and I hope that today our actions here will give further reassurance of that.”

Annabelle Goodenough, South East Regional Manager for Crimestoppers, said:

“Crimestoppers gives people the power to speak up and stop crime 100% anonymously.

“The people of Hampshire have been incredibly supportive of our previous campaigns, helping to keep communities safer by speaking up. I encourage everyone to check our website and let us know immediately if you have any information on any of the individuals. You are the one that can make all the difference – and you can speak up anonymously, without fear of reprisal or anyone knowing that you spoke out.

“You can call us on freephone 0800 555 111 or search for Crimestoppers-uk.org/most-wanted. As a charity, we ensure you won’t have to give your personal details, just tell us what you know, and we’ll pass it on for you.”