Brief Christmas 2015

Making the Markets safe Challenges of policing one of the UK's most famous Christmas Markets Operation Advent Behind the scenes of the annual Christmas campaign Christmas Card competition Winning design revealed

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Reflecting on the last 12 months THIS is the time of year when we reflect on the past 12 months and start to look forward to the year ahead.

In 2015 we have continued our drive to improve the way we provide help and support to the most vulnerable in our communities.

We have policed many high profile and complex events from political conferences to sporting events and

remained a presence on the streets of Greater Manchester.

All these achievements have come despite continued budget challenges that have put us under increased pressure.

I am cautiously optimistic about the recent comprehensive spending review announcement. We will be continuing in 2016 and beyond to push to work in a more integrated way with our partners.

Recent events have put a focus on work to tackle terrorism and extremism and our focus needs to be

on helping communities to stand together despite the difficulties.

We have a chance now to work together and make the changes needed for the future.

The changes that will mean we can continue to protect and keep our communities safe.

In the coming months we will be explaining more about what the future is going to look like, and we need your involvement.

There will be a number of events taking place in January and we need you to be part of that, and more

importantly to be part of the changes we need to make.

This is our opportunity to come together and change the shape of policing in Greater Manchester but most importantly ensure we keep protecting society and helping keep people safe.

I wish you all a safe and enjoyable Christmas and a happy New Year.

Ian Hopkins Chief Constable

A year of challenges and opportunities SIR Peter retired this year, having achieved so much for policing and the people of Greater Manchester, and we’ve now welcomed Chief Constable Ian Hopkins and Deputy Chief Constable Ian Pilling who will I’m sure take great strides to shape GMP into a service fit for the road ahead.

Devolution has been added to the

mix and it brings with it significant powers transferred from Whitehall to Greater Manchester.

I will continue to work with others to radically reform our public services, ensuring we work better together, do more with less, and put people and families at the heart of all we do.

There’s no such thing as a typical day when it comes to policing.

As well as dealing with complex crimes such as modern slavery, domestic violence and child sexual exploitation, you must still catch

burglars and car thieves.

As well as policing protests and tackling criminal gangs, you’re the first port of call for those who just need a bit of help and support and don’t know who else to turn to.

This is the reality of modern policing, and I am proud to be Police and Crime Commissioner of a police service held in such high regard across the country and so committed to the people it serves.

2016, will no doubt be full of challenges of its own, but our focus

must remain on keeping people safe from harm.

By working together we can rise to the challenges we face, and seize the opportunities before us.

I wish you a very happy Christmas, both on duty and off, and a prosperous and peaceful New Year.

Tony Lloyd Greater Manchester Mayor and PCC

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Christmas from another perspective TWO GMP officers share their thoughts on Christmas through the eyes of their own faith.

Sgt Bash Anwar, Chair of the Muslim Police Association I think some would be surprised to know that although Muslims don’t celebrate Christmas, as a faith we do share many similarities with Christianity. We hold Jesus Christ in very high regard as one of the most important Prophets – however the key difference is that we do not believe he is the Son of God. For my family, Christmas is a time to go back to what the festival is about, which is spending time with our loved ones. Many Muslims I know will fulfil their commitment to charitable causes (all of us who have the means are obligated to give away 2.5 per cent of what we earn or possess to charity per year). It is not unusual to see Muslims helping out at homeless shelters or food banks at Christmas time.

Personally I often work over the Christmas period to enable my colleagues to have the time off. My message at this time of year would be to make the most of the time you spend with loved ones and please keep safe. On behalf of the MPA I wish all of you Season’s Greetings and look forward to seeing you in the New Year.

Supt Leor Giladi, Chair of the Jewish Police Association To me, Christmas day is just a normal day! However, in December we celebrate Hanukkah - also known as the Festival of Lights which lasts for eight days and nights.

The most well-known tradition we observe as part of this is the ritual of kindling the lights one night at a time on the Hanukkah menorah (candelabrum), culminating in all the candles being lit on the eighth and final night.

It is a joyous time of year where friends and family gather in the evenings and eat traditional foods such as potato cakes and doughnuts.

I always work over the Christmas period so that my team can spend as much time possible with their families.

Although we don’t participate in the festivities, I do enjoy seeing everyone else following their own traditions and the buzz at this time of year. I’d like to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas.

Superintendent Craig Thompson

No Christmas cheer for offenders thanks to Operation Bauble A forcewide operation has been launched to spread misery among the criminal fraternity.

The operation, which is codenamed Bauble, sees divisions join forces with specialist resources to launch ’12 days of action’.

The festive operation, which started in Oldham on 7 December, targets the traditional spike in crime usually seen during this time of year.

Divisions choose the priority they’d like to focus on and receive support from specialist resources to ensure the day is as impactive as possible.

Social media is being used heavily throughout the operation to give the public an insight into the work being done to keep them safe over the festive period.

Superintendent Craig Thompson who is coordinating the operation said: “We want law-abiding people to remember Christmas for all the right reasons, and to make sure this happens we’ll be doing everything we can to take offenders off our streets through Operation Bauble.

“Divisional officers with the support of specialist resources are targeting local issues to ensure there isn’t a spike in crime and people can go about their daily business safely.”

Follow #OpBauble on Twitter for updates on the operation.

Spotlight

personal experience of mental health issues provide a range of support for those experiencing depression, anxiety, panic attacks or suicidal thoughts, offering a calm space to talk and signposting CHRISTMAS can be an isolating time assistance to help them cope after the of year for anyone suffering with mental ill initial crisis. The service provides high health. Police are often the first to come quality, non-clinical support in a noninto contact with those who are struggling stigmatising manner. to cope, and it is therefore even more Force Tactical Mental Health lead PC important that they know where to signpost Adele Owen said: “Police will always come somebody so that they can get the advice across people in communities who they and appropriate support they might need. suspect to have mental ill health and who In light of this, GMP continues to build may require some support. It is important on the relationship they have had for a that police know who they can then number of years now, with the charity Self signpost them to. Charities such as Self Help. Self Help can provide face-to-face Help are already providing individuals and support for people experiencing mental police with an additional option for people distress ‘out of hours’ as well as providing with mental ill health who do not need to an important 24-hour crisis phone line attend a hospital A&E department and who seven days a week for anyone who may can benefit greatly from more local and be suffering with mental ill-health or appropriate support. contemplating suicide.

“I would urge all frontline officers and One of their services, The Sanctuary staff to familiarise themselves with the provides a place of safety and support in a services available and build local non-clinical environment, where trained relationships with mental health charities in Self Help staff are on hand to respond. their area to ensure we are providing the best possible service to our communities.”

Experienced staff and volunteers with Sanctuary contact details: Manchester, Trafford, Salford, Tameside and Glossop: 0300 003 7029 – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Bolton, Wigan and Leigh: 0300 003 7029 – 8pm-6am If your division falls out of the catchment area above, you can also signpost to the Samaritans free helpline at 116 123. Officers and staff are also welcome to use The Sanctuary if they have mental ill health themselves. Alternatively please visit the Force Wellbeing intranet pages for details of other services available here.

Don’t get conned out of Christmas WITH Christmas almost here again, more and more of us are going online to find those special presents for our loved ones.

But Christmas is also a favourite time of year for criminals. This year, make sure you don’t get conned out of Christmas by thinking twice before you buy online. Some top tips are below:

Beware of bogus electrical websites. Fraudsters have set up a high specification website template advertising various electrical goods and domestic appliances. These goods are listed below market value and do not exist. The fraudsters will request your card details via the website, however the purchaser will then receive an email stating the payment failed and they must pay via bank transfer.

The fraudsters entice the purchaser and reassure them it is a legitimate purchase by using the widely recognised Trusted Shop

Don’t give your personal details to people or organisations without checking their credentials. If you are using an online auction or sale site check the trader’s selling history or have a look at Trustmark. The fraudsters are what other customers have said using the Trustmark fraudulently about this particular site, but be and have not been certified by wary.

Trusted Shops and therefore the Always follow sale site protocols. purchaser is not covered by the Never pay money directly into a Trusted Shop money-back stranger’s or company’s bank guarantee. account. Consider using a secure payment method such as PAYPAL. For more guidance visit the ‘latest That way no-one can get your news’ on the Force Intranet site or personal details and if you did become a victim of fraud you have refer to ‘The Little Book of Big Scams’ on the GMP website. payment protection and can get your money back.

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THIS year, the annual Force Christmas Card competition was opened to the public of Greater Manchester and one talented eightyear-old beat off fierce competition to claim the top prize.

Eve Harrop from Denton submitted a design that impressed Chief Constable Ian Hopkins as the stand-out artwork that perfectly fit the brief of 'the future of GMP'.

On Thursday 3 December, Eve paid a special visit to FHQ where she was personally thanked by the Chief Constable. He even got a grilling of his own as she had prepared a list of questions to ask him!

News

No competition for Christmas Eve’s card A time for giving

She is very much looking forward to her prize of a day out at Hough End with the Mounted and Dog Unit.

The card has been digitised for use as GMP’s official animated e-card.

Over 70 entries were received across two age categories. The runner-up was drawn by Melissa Jarvis, aged 14 from Marple.

Click here to view the ecard.

The runner-up—Melissa Jarvis, 14 from Marple

Eve was thanked personally by the Chief Constable

GENEROUS officers and staff have once again been showing their support for disadvantaged people in the community through the Forcewide Operation Christmas Hamper and Key 103 Mission Christmas toy appeal charity campaigns.

Many divisions and branches have set up drop off points for colleagues to donate either nonperishable food items and/or new toys or gifts.

Some local businesses have also helped out with contributions, including 100 boxes of tea bags from Unilever for the Christmas Hampers!

Donations for the hamper appeal have been packed up and are being delivered by neighbourhood officers and PCSOs to nominees in their areas on the run up to and including Christmas Day. The appeal is organised by the radio staion’s official charity Cash4Kids, which supports less fortunate children across all of Greater Manchester.

The toys are collected and sorted at a warehouse in Trafford before they are delivered to a range of families, charitable organisations and schools before December 25.

If you know of any families or children who might benefit from the Mission Christmas appeal please contact missionchristmas@key103.co.uk.

For more information please visit the intranet.

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Spotlight

A cup of tea goes viral STU Ockwell (pictured left) found himself thrust in to the limelight last month, when he became a social media superstar for tweeting about visiting an elderly couple who called police because they were lonely.

The message was also posted on the GMP Heywood and Middleton Facebook page and received over 4,000 likes and hundreds of comments.

The post was referring to a visit that Stu and PC Andy Richardson, who are the neighbourhood officers for Langley in Middleton, paid to a 95year-old couple after the wife called and said they were lonely.

The woman’s husband is partially blind and at times it can be a struggle for her to look after him.

The post went viral and resulted in media coverage from the likes of the BBC, ITV, Key 103 and the Manchester Evening News, amongst others. Stu said: “What happened got a lot of attention, however, we didn’t do anything that any other police officer wouldn’t have done.

“Neither Andy or myself are anybody special, I only posted it to show that we don’t just fight crime, we also deal with these kinds of incidents and it just snowballed.

“We did get some flak for the visit but mostly the response was very positive and it just goes to show that a lot of people do appreciate the work of local cops.

“The couple do have a lot of friendly neighbours and close family members giving them good support but they just wanted some help.

Neighbourhood officers are there to offer a closer and more personal service within communities so we just went to comfort them and show the help is there.”

Mobility scooter safety

Inspector Susan Redfern at the Scooter Safety event

A cup of tea goes viral

WITH an increasing number of road users the Force held its first mobility scooter awareness session following an increase in fatalities.

The event at Clayton Brook saw members of the public who are either existing scooter riders or those considering getting one have go on the vehicles and learn key safety advice as well as complete practical exercises.

Over the last five years there have been 15 reported incidents involving mobility scooters. Five of these resulted in fatalities and two were left with serious injuries. Four of these fatalities occurred in the last two years.

Inspector Susan Redfern from the Roads Policing Unit in Chadderton said: “This event was the first of its kind and we want it to result in future events. Mobility scooters offer users a sense of freedom and while we do not want to discourage people from using them, we do want to ensure that they are used safely.

“We are finding that many mobility scooter users haven’t driven in years, if at all, and their knowledge of the Highway Code is therefore limited.

“By taking time to familiarise themselves with the rules of the road, users will have more confidence and we can hopefully reduce the number of collisions.”

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SALFORD: A young girl has been invited to visit Salford DHQ after she wrote a heartwarming letter asking for tips on being an officer.

The nine-year-old, named Kaiya, said she wanted to join the force when she’s older and would like some ‘feedback’ and to visit the station.

Officers at GMP Salford West were flooded with messages of support after putting the ‘lovely’ letter on their Facebook page.

BOLTON: OFFICERS and staff have been donating toys and slab cakes to the Bolton URBAN outreach festive programme ‘Dinner on Jesus’. The hamper scheme aims to support the most disadvantaged, vulnerable and complex adults and young people in the area.

They are aiming to beat their record of 1000 hampers delivered in the area last year which helped 3000 nominated individuals and families.

Bolton colleagues will help to deliver the hampers on Wednesday 23 December.

BURY: A Special constable was invited to a prestigious national event marking 100 years of women in policing.

Leanne Oxley was one of six specials who attended the event which was hosted by Home Secretary Theresa May at the British Library in London on Wednesday 2 December.

Leanne is a a mum for four and her husband is currently a serving police Dog Handler at GMP. She joined the Special Constabulary in 2007 having formerly worked in Child Protection.

SOUTH MANCHESTER: AN exciting new music venue is being launched in Wythenshawe with the help of GMP. St Francis Church on Newall Green is a new performance space that is the result of a community project across partners. PS Neil Tolley applied for funding for the project last year from the High Sheriff’s Trust which has contributed £3000 to the completion of the venue.

The space will feature a hall for live concerts, but over the next few months will see a number of developments including the addition of a recording studio.

Sgt Neil Tolley said: “This project has been in the pipeline for a number of years and it is fantastic to see it finally come to completion.

The recording studio will be a particular benefit for the local community as we hope that young people will make use of the facility and see a reduction of anti-social behaviour in the area.”

The grand opening of the venue will take place on Sunday 20 December. For more information please visit their website www.roc.uk.com/project/roccafe

ROCHDALE: A PCSO took part in a charity hair donation on Saturday 5 December.

Danielle Doran from Rochdale is chopping of 16 inches off her 17 inch locks to help raise money for the Little Princess Trust, a charity who provide real hair wigs to boys and girls throughout the UK and Ireland who have sadly lost their own hair through cancer treatment. Each wig the charity purchases costs on average £350. However, as a result of hair donations the charity receive they are able to have the wigs made free of change.

The charity was set up in memory of Hannah Tarplee, a little girl who lost a short battle with cancer in June 2005.

Her parents struggled to find a suitable wig in the right size for Hannah, they had to have one specifically made for her.

After Hannah lost her battle with cancer they used money raised to set up the Little Princess Trust in order to have wigs made free of charge for those in need of them.

If you’d like to support Danielle please visit www.justgiving.com/ danielle-doran1

Millie’s marvellous day out

Christmas comes early KIDS from the North Manchester division were treated to a special day out at the atmospheric Garde II listed Clayton Hall in December.

The East Neighbourhood Policing Team worked with volunteers at the venue to give local school children a festive day to remember. As well as getting a tour of the beautiful venue, they were treated to a surprise appearance from Santa who handed out presents.

A kind hearted officer has helped bring a smile to the face of a girl who has been through a traumatic year.

Earlier this year, 16-year-old Millie Patten was sat in the passenger seat of her grandma, Lynne Cash’s car when it was involved in devastating collision.

She came out of it with minor injuries, but sadly her grandma passed away later at the hospital.

Family liaison officer Sandy Turnbull has been working with Millie and her family since the accident to offer them support at this difficult time.

It has been particularly tough for Millie who had to give evidence as

the only witness who was in the car.

Over the months, Sandy got to know the family and learned about Millie’s passion for animals.

Immediately she got in touch with GMP’s mounted and dog unit to see if they could arrange a special visit for her to spend some time with the animals that help keep Greater Manchester safe.

They were happy to oblige and last week Millie spent a day learning about the horses and dogs the work for GMP. Millie said: “When I found out about the day with the mounted and dog units I was dead excited! My mum had known about it for a while

but had kept it a secret until last month when it was all confirmed. Sandy has been really helpful and supportive this year and I’d like to say a big thank you to her.”

Officer Sandy Turnbull said: “Millie is such a polite, lovely girl who has been through a lot this year.

Not only has she had to live through a terrible accident and the loss of her grandma, she has also had to be strong for her three younger siblings.

Seeing Millie smile today was very rewarding and I'd like to say thank you to all the officers and staff who helped to make this day possible for her.”

Policing the festive spirit TO most of us the Christmas Markets are a chance to indulge in bratwurst, gluhwein and post-work drinks.

But for one GMP team, the annual festive extravaganza means their work is just beginning.

While the markets attract hundreds of thousands of extra visitors to the city centre, they also bring with them a number of challenges, which are met by the City Centre INPT.

Inspector Roger Worrell, who heads up the team with fellow inspector Phil Spurgeon, said: “Manchester city centre is a fabulous place at this time of year and I am really looking forward to policing it and getting into the festive spirit with shoppers and visitors.

“It’s estimated that up to 150,000 extra people per day visit us at this time of year, most of which are attracted by the markets, pre-

Christmas shopping and drinking.

“With that amount of extra people descending on a couple of square miles we are bound to be busier than normal, but the night-time economy is always buzzing at the best of times.

“One annual problem we do have is pick-pockets targeting people at the markets. As a result one of our biggest pushes every year is to encourage people to look after their bags, phones and wallets, and also

reminding them not to leave presents on show in their cars.

“We’ve also got thousands coming into the city centre on two consecutive Friday 11 and 18 December, otherwise known locally as Mad Fridays.

“We always like to police with a smile on our faces, especially at this time of year, but when all said and done we will take action when people take their Christmas spirits too far.”

Looking behind the doors of Operation Advent or them?

“All I could do was smile and wave.”

Operation Advent was originally designed to showcase particular crime prevention campaigns in the run up to Christmas, but Chris and the team quickly realised that the funniest clips got the best response.

As a result, they started to script mini -sketches that concentrated more on Christmas comic possibilities than sternfaced public messaging.

Chris said: “At this time of year Surrounded by a veritable Santa’s people tend to want their crime grotto of disembodied reindeer heads, prevention messages wrapped up in elf outfits and partially-nibbled mince tinsel, sprinkled with a hint of festive pies, CMI manager Chris Oldham frivolity. reflects on some of the more surreal “We spend all year pumping out moments that have lit-up their annual witness appeals, CCTV footage and festive filming regime. hard-hitting campaigns, so it’s nice to “A personal highlight has to be the briefly concentrate on light-hearted sudden appearance of a foreign things for a while.” delegation as I was sat in our state-ofWhether it’s a streetwise Santa the-art media suite dressed as a rapping crime prevention advice or a reindeer,” said Chris. cheeky child grilling the Chief Constable “To be precise, I was in character, for festive giggles, the online campaign giving a heart-breaking interview in has become a welcome December silhouette after some heinous Christmas distraction for officers, staff and the -related crime or other,” he added. “The public alike. studio door suddenly opened and an However, providing a different video Albanian delegation entered the room. I for all 24 days can bring its own don’t know who was more surprised, me pressures. Geoff Lingard, the unit’s WHILE the first signs of snow or the new John Lewis advert might herald the start of the festive season for many, at GMP it’s the annual online advent calendar that marks the start of the Christmas countdown. Designed, scripted and filmed by the busy elves at GMP’s Corporate Media Imaging unit, the team invited Adrian Worsley behindthe-scenes as they put the finishing touches to 2015’s masterpiece.

award-winning videographer (pictured But, as Chris says, there are many below with the cast), said: “We write the moments that make it all worthwhile. script first before scouting round for any “I was filming a sketch dressed as extra props we might need.

Santa on a street in New Moston last “In the past we’ve had to request week,” explained Chris. people bring in all manner of things, “I was suddenly spotted by local kids from Persian carpets and Oasis-style and there were coming out to speak to beanie hats to electric guitars. me and hanging out of their school “Once we’ve got our script and props windows to get a glimpse of Santa. lined up we then need our actors. We’re “It was all very sweet. However, I blessed with a number of budding, or had to make sure that when I drove off I former, thespians in the Corporate didn’t de-Santa – I wouldn’t want to ruin Communications branch, so we tend to their Christmas by removing my beard rope them in. and leaving them with their dreams “However, we also approach anyone shattered.” who happens to work in FHQ – you never know, we might try and drag you in if you’re not careful!”

The pressure of incorporating the annual shooting schedule into day-to-day business, which is often led operationally, Video Officer Geoff Lingard is joined by can be difficult. some familiar faces from Op Advent

#GMPChristmas It may be the season of goodwill but statistics also show it is also a time of rising crime. GMPs response this year is a coordinated initiative focusing on tackling criminals, protecting the vulnerable and encouraging people to improve their communities.

Launched on 30 November by ACC John O'Hare, GMP Christmas includes a crackdown on criminals through Operation Bauble, targeting drink and drug drivers, and sending Christmas

cards as warnings to persistent offenders. There is also a substantial amount of crime prevention advice being given through an online video advent calendar and social media updates.

A key strand for this years festive initiative is to encourage people to help others in their community by making a Christmas promise. Members of the public have been sharing the promises through Twitter and Facebook.

The Force has also been getting involved in the collection of food for hampers for vulnerable people and is supporting the Key103 toy appeal.

Chief Constable Ian Hopkins helped to deliver some of the food hampers.

GMP Christmas continues right through until early January to work to ensure it is a safe and enjoyable festive season in Greater Manchester.

Spotlight The deadline for the next edition of Brief is January 29 2016. Email Brief@gmp.police.uk with any story ideas.

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