Operation Clean Up is primarily designed to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour by removing untaxed vehicles (vehicle tax that is 3 months or more out of date) including cars, vans, lorries and motorcycles from the public roads. Such vehicles are commonly used by criminals for transport to and from the scene of crimes and by others in a dangerous and unsafe manner. It is not an "abandoned vehicles" project as it is the responsibility of the local Councils to tackle the problem of abandoned vehicles in their areas.
Operation Clean Up is a multi agency project involving the Police, Belfast City Council, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency NI (DVLNI), the Fire and Rescue Service and the NIO Community Safety Unit. It is being piloted for a 3 year period until 31 March 2007 in the Greater Belfast area and adjoining Police District Command Units (DCUs) as the reported crime figures indicated during the project development phase, that this was where the greatest impact could be achieved with the resources available. It operates under functions delegated by the DVLNI under the Vehicle Excise Duty (Immobilisation, Removal and Disposal of Vehicles) Regulation 1997 to the PSNI.
Under the scheme untaxed vehicles identified by the Fire Brigade and Police are collected by independently appointed contractors and brought to a vehicle storage compound, provided and managed by Belfast City Council, where they are kept for a short time (around 14 days) before being destroyed, reclaimed or auctioned. Owners who wish to reclaim their vehicles are required to pay the collection and storages fees incurred plus a refundable sum against obtaining a new tax disc for the vehicle. The DVLNI will also take enforcement action against those whose vehicles were removed under the scheme.
The project commenced on a full time basis in October 2004. A full assessment of the project's impact on crime is on-going and once finalised a decision about the project's future beyond March 2007 will be taken. Anecdotal information to date suggests that the project has coincided with a reduction in road traffic accidents, with reduced injuries and fatalities in those areas where it is operating.
Summary of the number of vehicles removed, reclaimed and destroyed in each DCU (PDF 24KB)
