(ST. JOSEPH, Mo) St. Joseph Police arrested five people as part of a special joint force operation Thursday night.

The operation targeted people who run away from police. 
Police Captain Jeff Wilson said officers observed an issue and that was the inspiration for the operation.

"We saw a problem and we implemented some planning to address that problem," Wilson said.

He said the operation took months to plan and that safety was a top priority for the department. 

"Our focus when we plan operations is around safety of all involved in the operations," Wilson said. "Including the people that we're trying to apprehend."

The plan involved flooding the sky and streets with law enforcment. In order to do that, SJPD collaborated with the Buchanan County Sheriff's Department, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

MSHP Sergeant Angle said it was coordinated and lead by the SJPD.

"We were just assisting them providing a helicopter and some addition officers," Angle said. 

Police said the operation resulted in five arrests, one car crash and no injuries.