Crime – Reader

From hare coursing to tractor heists: inside Yorkshire’s rural crime fight

Police forces across South Yorkshire, Humberside and North Yorkshire have marked National Rural Crime Week of Action, highlighting funding schemes, seasonal risks to farmers, and a rural crime picture officers say is increasingly linked to organised crime.

September 14, 2026

Crime Featured West Yorkshire

Leeds man jailed for 37 years following sexual and physical assault offences

Paul Benstock, 62, of East Ardsley, has been jailed for 37 years after being convicted of more than 40 sexual and physical assault offences against five victims, including 14 counts of rape, following a Leeds Safeguarding Unit investigation.

September 14, 2026Leeds

Crime Featured West Yorkshire

Barrister jailed for plotting revenge attack over Huddersfield gang shooting

Samreen Akhtar, a barrister who plotted a revenge attack for a client shot in a Kirklees gang feud, has been jailed for three years and three months following a West Yorkshire Police investigation.

September 8, 2026Huddersfield

Crime Featured North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire declares war on rural crime as Task Force turns ten

North Yorkshire Police's Rural Task Force, marking its tenth anniversary, joins National Rural Crime Action Week from 6 September, with public engagement events planned at Moorcock Show and Ruswarp Auction Mart.

September 7, 2026

Crime Featured West Yorkshire

Police facial recognition cameras identify 80 suspects in West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire Police's Live Facial Recognition cameras have now helped identify more than 80 wanted suspects since launching in November 2025, following a fresh two-day deployment in Wakefield city centre.

September 7, 2026Wakefield