Emily Bridgewater joins the police on Operation Acorn. . .

WEDNESDAY morning, just after 6am and the mood in Bromsgrove police station can only be described as jovial.

A gaggle of plain-clothed officers file into the station's conference room armed only with a cup of coffee. There is a definite air of relaxed calm before the storm.

A similar scenario is taking place across the North Worcestershire division, in police stations at Redditch and Kidderminster, as officers prepare to implement Operation Acorn.

The exercise will last only a matter of hours and feature a number of dawn raids, targeting known criminals.

Detective Inspector Stacey Williamson explained: "Operation Acorn tackles violent offenders, drug dealers and car criminals and is the culmination of several weeks of intelligence gathering and forensic examinations."

The laughter and good-natured banter subsides and officers gather round a small table, ready to receive their 'packages'.

On the wall a white board, scrawled in coloured pen are all the code names of individual operations.

Groups of three officers receive a 'package' to deal with between them.

Each, which has been prepared by the intelligence cell, contains details of an offender, including name, address and photographs.

There is also a substantial amount of paperwork containing a wealth of evidence against the target, including police statements and forensic material.

It is hoped a successful operation will result in a host of arrests, with people being taken to the custodial blocks at Redditch, Kidderminster or Worcester.

There are no such facilities at Bromsgrove.

DI Williamson continued: "By carrying out these operations we want to send a clear message to the victims that we are on their side and that we will not tolerate these types of crime."

Another aim of the operation is to encourage unity and cohesion among the staff in the newly-amalgamated North Worcestershire division.

The officers, some in uniform, some in plain clothes, are then dismissed and leave the Ednall Lane station in a flock of unmarked cars.

A matter of hours later, 14 people have been arrested across the division in connection with offences, including actual bodily harm, indecent assault and supply of Class A drugs.

"The people who commit these crimes show no regard for feelings of their victims and must be prepared to suffer the consequences of their actions, which is to be arrested and, in some cases, imprisoned," added DI Williamson.

"More than 50 officers worked together to target offenders, some of which were in Walsall, Brierley Hill and Tamworth.

"Those concerned are now being questioned at Redditch and Kidderminster and a variety of stations across the Midlands."

Despite the operation's success, DI Williamson stressed the importance of residents keeping police informed of criminal activities in the town.

"There will be people within our community who know that these crimes are happening and may have nothing to do with them at all," she said.

"I would ask them to contact us and share their information."

She added: "They can either speak directly to us or they can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111."