This week, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) have relaunched the scheme, Operation Guard, to help reduce seasonal burglaries across Salford and Manchester.
Operation Guard ran last year and saw a 25% reduction in crimes occurring against properties across Salford and Greater Manchester.
The campaign uses forensic marking liquid which is designed to stick to clothing months after the event, making criminals easier to identify and convict.
GMP are working with Police Community Support Officers, (PCSO’s) to educate Salford business and shop owners on how to prevent crime.
Helping local people
Superintendent Caroline Hemingway, Greater Manchester Police, said: “People are vulnerable, shops and shop owners are targeted this time of year.
“Behind these offences are people, people who work in the shops who are subject to violence that really is not acceptable.”
The forensic marking kits are being provided and fitted into shops by PCSO’s who explain to the owners how to get the most effective use out of them.
Superintendent Hemingway has said she has found that shop owners are at an increasing risk.
The scheme ran through December to February last year and is being tested during the same period this year, these three months are some of the highest numbers of burglaries across the year in Greater Manchester, making the forensic marking a useful tool.
Superintendent Hemingway said: “It is a policing tactic that is certainly open to pulsing and repeating throughout the year when we do have spikes.
“But this is the highest spike at this time of year for people committing crime and it is putting people at risk.”
Recent Comments