SYP Operational Support

Home
United Kingdom
Sheffield
SYP Operational Support

Directions Website

Updates from South Yorkshire Police's Operational Support Unit. This page should not be used to report crime. In an emergency call 999.

For non-emergencies call 101 or visit our website https://www.southyorkshire.police.uk/ro/report/

19/10/2026

PD Mav detains teenage burglar 🐶

Two teenage burglars who thought they could run and hide were soon found and detained by PD Mav and his handler.

Our dog handlers are experienced and trained to direct their four-legged partners and following a recent spate of burglaries, PD Mav’s handler put Mav’s nose and skills to the test.

Earlier this month (3 October) just after 4am we received reports of a burglary in Cudworth, Barnsley with the offenders fleeing.

PD Mav and his handler immediately responded and PD Mav began to track along the road and into nearby fields, where the dog handlers sighted two figures running ahead.

Giving a verbal challenge that PD Mav would be released, one suspect surrendered himself to the officer, but the other decided to take his chances.

The second suspect didn’t get far, before PD Mav detained him by his arm.

Both suspects teenagers, aged 14 and 17 were arrested.

Following a search, the 14 year-old boy was found in possession of equipment consistent with committing burglaries.

They were taken to custody, interviewed and as enquiries into the burglaries progressed, officers highlighted further properties that had been targeted.

The 17-year-old boy was charged with three counts of burglary and five counts of attempt burglary. He has since pleaded guilty to the charges and will be sentenced next month.

The 14-year-old boy was also charged with three counts of burglary and five counts of attempted burglary. He has pleaded not guilty and will stand trial next year.

Both boys cannot be named for legal reasons.

Burglary can shatter a person’s sense of safety in their own home and has life-long implications for victims. We are committed to finding those responsible and putting them before the courts.

16/10/2026

COURT: Man appears in court after his dog was dangerously out of control

A man has been banned from keeping animals after his poorly kept and cared for dog attacked an innocent dog in Sheffield.

Earlier this year, on 19 March 2026, a woman was walking her own dog along Hall Road in Sheffield when a German Shepherd fled from a property and began attacking her pet.

The victim managed to stop the attack but her dog suffered a 10cm laceration to it’s chest that required emergency veterinary treatment and subsequent aftercare, totalling over £800 in fees.

After providing officers with a description of the dog and its owner, dog legislation officers executed a warrant at a home on Hall Road in a bid to seize the dog for safety.

While inside the property, they found a dog. Muhammed Akhtar said the German Shepherd matching the description was his. The dog was kept in a cage described by officers as ‘no bigger than the dog’ in a conservatory that was hot with no ventilation.

The dog had no padding in the cage and no food or water.

Akhtar, 28 of Hall road Sheffield appeared at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court on 9 October and pleaded guilty to the offences. He was ordered to pay £2,000 in compensation and banned from keeping or being in control of animals for five years.
He was also given a conditional caution for animal cruelty offences.

As a dog owner, you are the one who will be held responsible for your dog’s actions. It is your responsibility to keep them under control, ensuring everyone’s safety

09/10/2026

Anyone of us can die in a collision; we all have a role to play in creating safer roads and reducing those killed or seriously injured.

Following proactive traffic patrols, tickets have been issued to drivers in Rotherham for inconsiderate actions.

Working alongside an officer from the Rotherham Central NPT we seized two vehicles for having no insurance and dealt with other drivers for having no MOT and for not wearing a seatbelt.

Four traffic offence reports were also issued to people parking on junctions and causing obstruction.

Do your part, think before your park, be considerate to other road users and ensure you and your vehicle are roadworthy.

26/09/2026

Thank you received from local scout group

Officers from the Sheffield North East NPT our dog handler to PD Riggs and PD Taffy, alongside some of our OK9 handlers recently visited the Ukrainian Adventure Camp to talk to the children about the police, ringing 999 and how we help.

Following the visit, where the children got to see PD Riggs and PD Taffy in action, alongside our cars, they created a thank you card for everyone.

We are always grateful when people take the time to say thank you 💙

25/09/2026

Arrests made after rampage in Doncaster

Determined roads policing officers arrested two men overnight after attempts at assaulting officers, ramming police cars, garden fencing and driving down alleyways proved unsuccessful.

In the early hours of this morning (25 September) just after midnight, an officer in a marked car sighted a Landrover Defender in Edlington. Officers requested the driver to stop due to their manner of driving and being suspected of driving over the limit of alcohol.

As the car came to a stop, the driver attempted to flee and during his arrested assaulted officers.

While officers were dealing with the driver, the passenger thought he’d try his chances and jumped in the driver’s seat and fled.

An officer was quick in pursuit, and during the chase, the driver drove down pedestrian areas within a housing estate and became trapped in a dead end.

After ramming the police vehicle and the property's wall and fencing, the driver squeezed down a path, but officers were waiting and quickly had him detained.

Both men were taken to custody, one has since been charged and the other remains in for questioning.

22/09/2026

Officers’ lives put in danger as driver fails to adhere to red X

We never know what incident we may be faced with, or where we may have to carry out our work and enquiries.

Road closures and red X’s on motorways are there for everyone’s safety, including other road users, ourselves or other emergency service workers.

On Sunday (20 September) we responded to reports of a man suffering a medical episode behind the wheel on the M1.

Due to the number of emergency vehicles, including ambulances, a lane closure was put in place with a red X signalling to drivers they needed to use alternative lanes.

A HGV travelling down the motorway failed to adhere to one red X and continued to travel towards the scene. He then failed to adhere to a second red X, and quickly realised that we were in the road.

An officer stopped the driver and he was issued with a traffic offence report.

We are all human, we are someone’s loved one and we deserve to not be put in additional danger while carrying out our duties, often trying to save other people.

It cannot be shied away from that HGVs have the ability to cause greater harm on our roads due to their size and weight, and the outcome of this could have been very different.

We all have a responsibility to make the roads of South Yorkshire a safer place to drive and work, and ensuring you adhere to the motorway signs can help increase safety for those working or those broken down awaiting recovery.

12/09/2026

They might not be fast enough to win any races at St Leger, although we think PH Woodthorpe would love to try!

But, they are brave, fearless and stand between danger and the people they protect with pride 🐴

Today, they're washed, brushed, turned out ready to meet and greet everyone attending St Leger 2026!

If you see them patrolling, stop and say hello 👋

PH Woodthorpe aka Woody and PH Wortley, aka Sully.

01/09/2026

Stinger deployed to stop stolen vehicle 💣

Sometimes staying quiet and biding our time is our best planned tactic and recently enabled us to use a stinger to bring a stolen car to a stop.

Last month, on 27 July, a roads policing officer was on duty and patrolling around Barnsley in an unmarked police car when he sighted a Vauxhall Astra reported as stolen a few days before.

Our experience tells us that those involved in criminality and driving stolen cars are more likely to take greater risks on the roads and fail to stop to evade police action.

The officer followed the car, with the driver unaware of his presence and put a plan together with his colleagues to deploy a stinger - a device used to deflate a vehicle’s tyres to bring the car to a stop.

By using this tactic and bringing the car to a stop before the driver was aware of our presence reduces the risk posed to the public to apprehend criminals.

Checks of the driver, a 51-year-old man, highlighted he wasn’t insured and didn’t hold a valid licence.

He appeared at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court last week (25 August) and was disqualified from driving for 12 months and ordered to pay £149 in fees.

28/08/2026

Determination prevails after assault on officer and police dog 🐶

Working on the frontline means facing the unknown but no officer or canine should ever expect to be assaulted while doing their job.

Earlier this month, on 17 August, a detective carrying out enquiries at a property in High Green in Sheffield was attacked. Sam Rhodes, 35 grabbed her by the neck, threw her to the floor, and fled, leaving her with minor head injuries.

What followed was a display of sheer determination.

As response officers spotted Rhodes running across train lines, trains were halted and a search began by a dog handler and his partner PD Chase.

Rhodes tried everything to escape, running through undergrowth and plunging into nearby streams to flee.

Directed by his handler, PD Chase pursued Rhodes and quickly had him detained by his arm.

Even then Rhodes continued to try his chances at escaping and put his hands round PD Chase’s throat, attempting to strangle him.

Our dogs are driven, determined and even despite Rhodes’ actions, PD Chase held on, and his handler quickly had him in handcuffs.

The determination of officers to protect and serve their communities and victims is unwavering.

Photographed is PD Chase 🐶

25/08/2026

Tyre thieves stopped in their tracks

A van suspected of committing theft from HGVs in Leicestershire was brought to a stop in South Yorkshire and two men were arrested.

Over the weekend, on Sunday 23 August, after using a stop stick to deflate the vehicle’s tyres, we stopped the van near to Junction 31 of the M1.

As it came to a stop, one man was quickly arrested, and another tried his chances on foot but was arrested by a dog handler a short distance away.

As we searched the vehicle, we found HGV tyres, evidence consistent with the reports, and further checks showed that the van was also reported stolen from the West Yorkshire area.

The men were arrested and taken to custody.

Address

South Yorkshire Police, Operations Complex
Sheffield
S91XX

Website

https://www.southyorkshire.police.uk/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when SYP Operational Support posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Want your organisation to be the top-listed government service in Sheffield?