Police claim 'fastest arrest in the West'
POLICE in Bristol managed to arrest a suspect just 15 minutes after a DNA hit.
Avon and Somerset constabulary's District Focus Team caught up with the suspected thief believed to have broken into a car in Charlotte Street car park.
Inspector Steve Appleton, who heads the team, said: "This has got to be the fastest arrest in the West.
"No sooner had we been notified that this man was wanted then my team had tracked him down and arrested him."
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As soon as the crime was reported, Crime Scene Investigators (CSIs) were sent to the scene to search for clues that could identify the suspected thief.
They found DNA on the car and ran a search which identified the sample as belonging to a known criminal.
He was arrested 15 minutes at a hostel in central Bristol and charged with theft.
Insp Appleton added: "This is a great example of teams within the police working together really effectively to quickly identify and arrest criminals.
"Often people who carry out crimes such as this are drug addicts stealing to fund a habit and it's important for us to work as quickly as possible to stop them."
The officers were working as part of Operation Relentless, which has seen more than 200 of the city's most prolific offenders arrested so far.
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